Bird 219 – Dracula Parrot

Happy Halloween! To bring our month of horror inducing birds to a close, I am bringing you Nosferatu himself, the Dracula Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus).

It earned its name for reasons that are too obvious and numerous to point out. Never has there been a bird with a more threatening aura. With the bald head of a Vulture, an elongated hooked beak, and the black and red plumes of a self-respecting villain, the Dracula Parrot certainly has a foreboding bearing.

While it is easy to see why they were dubbed the vampire of the parrot world, they’re behaviour is anything but. This parrot is a strict frugivore, meaning they only eat fruit, and specifically figs. Their long, hooked beaks are perfect for dissecting and draining the life blood of the innocent fig. 

It’s generally believed that they’re bald for the same reason as Vultures. Vultures lost their head feathers so they wouldn’t get messy when digging around in animal carcasses. Likewise, our parrot become bald to avoid becoming a matted, sticky mess when eating juicy fruits. This does raise a question though, if being bald is such an advantage, why didn’t any of the other dozen fruit-eating parrots evolve this trait? As it is, parrot baldness is rather rare; sometimes evolution is a fickle mistress.

Because of their striking appearance, the local peoples of Papua New Guinea hunt them to use their feathers in traditional headdresses. Today they’re vulnerable in the wild, and campaigns are afoot to create a more sustainable relationship between the people and their bird. So far from being a flying monstrosity, sapping the life blood of their victims, the Dracula Parrot is in need of protection.       

You might also spy a Superb Bird of Paradise hiding in there.

31/10/21