Meek's pygmy parrot (''Micropsitta meeki''), also known as the yellow-breasted pigmy parrot, is a species of small
parrot in the family
Psittacidae. It is
endemic to
Papua New Guinea.
Taxonomy and etymology
This bird is one of seven named in honour of the English naturalist
Albert Stewart Meek
Albert Stewart Meek (26 October 1871 – 1 October 1943) was an English bird collector and naturalist.
Biography
Meek was born on 26 October 1871 in Bow, London, the son of a merchant in natural history. In 1893 he travelled to Australia and ...
, who collected many previously unknown birds and insects from Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific region.
[ Many of these are now in the Natural History Museum in London.]
Description
Pygmy parrots are the smallest members of the true parrots
The true parrots are about 350 species of hook-billed, mostly herbivorous birds forming the superfamily Psittacoidea, one of the three superfamilies in the biological order Psittaciformes (parrots). True parrots are widespread, with species in ...
superfamily. They are fast-moving, emerald-green birds with brilliant flashes of colour.[ Meek's pygmy parrot has a cap, forehead, nape, and face of mid-brown with a yellow throat and underparts. In ''M. m. meeki'', the yellow colouring extends to the ear coverts, while in ''M. m. proxima'', it also extends as a narrowing band of yellow horizontally above the eyes. In the latter subspecies, the face and nape are a paler brown. The remainder of the plumage is green, slightly darker on the back and wings, and paler on the belly. The beak and large feet are brown.]
Distribution
Meek's pygmy parrot is known from the Admiralty Islands, a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
to the north of Papua New Guinea.