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All above subspecies are native to New Zealand, and have become endangered as a result of habitat destruction following human settlement and nest predation by introduced mammals. Scarce on the mainland, kākāriki have survived well on outlying islands. They are easy to breed but as with all protected native species in New Zealand a licence from the Department of Conservation is required to keep them in captivity.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis has indicated that the orange-fronted parakeet is a separate species and not just a colour variation of the yellow-crowned parakeet. The orange-fronted parakeet is highly endangered, with less than 200 individuals remaining in the North Canterbury region of the South Island. Furthermore, Chatham Island's yellow-crowned parakeet and the red-crowned populations of New Caledonia, Norfolk Island and the subantarctic islands have been determined to be distinct species (Boon et al., 2001).

The red-crowned parakeets are common in aviculture and they are relatively easy to breed. They will lay 5 to 8 white eggs in a nesting box. A cinnamon colour variety and a pied variety and yellow are available. They are quite fast and enjoy a large area to play and exercise.

• Boon, W.M.; Kearvell, J.; Daugherty, C. H.; Chambers, G. K. (2001): Molecular systematics and conservation of kakariki (Cyanoramphus spp.). Science for Conservation 176 PDF fulltext
• Scofield, R. Paul (2005): The supposed Macquarie Island parakeet in the collection of Canterbury Museum. Notornis 52(2): 117-120. PDF fulltext(subscription required)
• White, John (1887): The Ancient History of the Māori, Vol. 1: 55. Wellington, Government Printer.

• NZBirds.com - Kakariki
• The Lexicon of Parrots - Red-fronted Parakeet
• Kakariki.net; A Popular and useful resource with forums on kakariki husbandary, breeding and conservation
• Kakariki / New Zealand parakeets: conservation revealed: publications
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• further information on the Kakariki  
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• Red-crowned Kakariki Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae

• Description and sexing: The Red-Crowned Kakriki can be found in the southern and northern islands of New Zealand; some small peninsulas as well as the Auckland Islands. These are the most widely kept of the Kakariki species and are breed in large numbers not surprisingly, several mutations have become established. The Red-crowned Kakariki’s are perfect for inexperienced breeders as they are hardy, easy to manage birds.

   

  Length of male 27 cm average, female is usually slightly smaller, with a smaller beak. Average weight 60 g, female usually slightly lighter. The overall overall feather colour is green. The green has a yellow-green shine on the chest, abdomen and under tail feathers. The forehead and crown are red and there is a red eye line behind the eye. They have a red patch on both sides of the rump. Outer flight feathers are blue-purple. The iris is red, feet grey and the beak is light grey with a black tip.

  Behavior and keeping:

  The Red-crowned Kakariki is reported to have a pleasant disposition. The are slightly more cheeky as the Yellow-crowned Kakariki. They tend to be more tolerant of other birds - provided plenty of space is available for all. In cramped spaces, they can get aggressive and possibly cause injury. These very active birds enjoy being on the ground and scratching the soil, which makes them susceptible to parasites; therefore, regular worming is recommended. Free flying is a must for these activy birds therfore a minimun size of 3 x 1 x 2 m is recomended . They need some protection from winter frost and be aware of cold draft! A heated shelter may in some cases be necessary.

  The diet of these birds is not difficult; a standard mixture will do well. Seeds (millet, canary, sunflower. buckwheat, niger, hemp, safflower, peanuts, sweetcorn, linseed, corn, pinenuts, barley), fruits and vegetables (apples, oranges, kiwi fruits, fresh figs, berries, juniper berries, spinach, carrots), green food (dandelion leaves, cabbage leaves, etc.),

  Try soaking dry figs and juniper berries over night before feeding to soften them.

  Sprouted seeds, softened rusk and egg food should also be offered, particularly during the breeding season (rationed when not breeding).

  Breeding:

  Colony and flock breeding is possible even when breeding. Most of these parakeets are extremely willing to breed and may be sexually mature when they are only five months old. However, it's best to prevent breeding in their first year and also avoid breeding during the winter period.

  Several breedings per year may be possible, but overbreeding may result in poor health. No more than 2 breedings a year should be permitted. The female often starts another clutch before her previous young are independent. The male usually tends to the previous young. The band size is 4,5 mm.

  Mutations:

  Sex-linked mutations:

  Cinnamon, this mutation alters the colour of the eumelanin into brown instead of black. The result is a brownish green bird with brown flights and pink coloured legs and toes. The mask stays unaltered. Typical for this mutation is that all youngsters have red eyes at hatching. The eyes darken to dark brown after about 8 days.

  Recessive mutations:

  Pied, the recessive pied mutation shows an almost completely yellow bird. We might say that this type of pied causes a 95% absence of eumelanin. The colour of the flight feathers, legs, toes and nails can vary from grey till completely dilute. Split birds can be recognised in most cases by a pied spot at the inner side of the thighbone. The picture is showing a Female bird, nice pied all over.

  Bronze fallow, in common it is of a somewhat lighter shade than cinnamon caused by smaller eumelanin granules produced by this mutation. These birds have pink legs and red eyes. The psittacine stays unaffected leaving the mask unaltered. At first sight this bird can be mistaken for a cinnamon, however, the clear red eyes and the paler back of the head indicate the typical fallow mutation. One more tip, because the Fallow has no pupil, the eye appears “more red” and these birds aren’t good in flying because they cannot open or close there pupil, witch make them pretty blind, this is something you have to remember when you place them in your aviary! Do NOT  keep them in the full sun!

  Aqua, in an aqua bird the yellow psittacine is reduced by approximately 50%. Resulting in an bird that is not blue and not green, it is more in between. The red becomes about 50%paler. Unfortunately the feather structure of the aqua birds are very bad, it is like the aqua mutation in the Red-rumped parakeet. Maybe it will be better if selection takes places when breeding with green birds. 

  Pale fallow, almost equal to the bronze fallow but there is some difference. The greyish brown eumelanin content is lesser than in the bronze fallow resulting in a paler coloured fallow. An olive yellowish bird and ruby red eyes. Not only the clear red eyes are typical for this type of fallow but also the greenish shade at the lower abdomen. Legs, toes and nails are pink colored. One more tip, because the Fallow has no pupil, the eye appears “more red” and these birds aren’t good in flying because they cannot open or close their pupil, witch make them pretty blind, this is something you have to remember when you place them in your aviary! Do NOT keep them in the full sun!

  "Lutino” , note, this is a combination (secondary) mutation and not a primary mutation. Cinnamon combined with a Pale fallow bird will result in a pure yellow bird, also called Lutino (it reduces the visible eumelanin completely) the legs are pink colored and, typical for this mutation, red eyes. The color of the rump is red of the mask stays unaltered. Tip, if you want to breed a “Lutino”, start with a combination of Cinnamon male and Pale fallow female, juveniles males of this combination are the birds to keep! because of the sex-linked factor these males will produce combined with a Pale fallow female “Lutino” female juveniles! A true Lutino is not born yet, and if it is born, how would you recognize it as a primary mutation? The only thing I can think about to recognize a lutino is to carefully look at the eyes, a true Lutino would have pupils whereas a Fallow does not have a pupil (Funny thing not?) One more tip, because the Fallow has no pupil, the eye appears “more red” and these birds aren’t good in flying because they cannot open or close there pupil, witch make them pretty blind, this is something you have to remember when you place them in your aviary! Do NOT keep them in the full sun!

  Dominant mutations:

  Dominant Pied,the result is a bird with unpigmented patches or areas. This type of pied can vary from a few pied feathers till an almost complete absence of eumelanin. The mask is smaller in appearance in this mutation. Although these birds have a dominant inheritance, it is hard to say whether there is a clear difference between SF and DF birds or not. The picture is showing a male, dominant pied 

  Grey-green or Misty, recent reports have been made about new mutation, a grey green Red-crowned kakariki. For now we have to do with a photo, most probably this mutation inherits dominant but I am not sure (yet).

• Käkäriki / New Zealand parakeets
  

• Native birds

  Käkäriki, meaning ‘small green parrot’ in Maori, are beautiful forest birds. There are five main species of käkäriki: yellow-crowned parakeet, orange-fronted parakeet, red-crowned parakeet, Forbes parakeet and Antipodes Island parakeet.

  Käkäriki are basically bright green in colour but can be identified by the distinguishing coloured areas on the head (although in the case of the Antipodes Island species, the head is entirely green). The red-crowned parakeet is distinguished by a bright crimson forehead, crown and a streak extending back beyond the eyes. The

  yellow-crowned parakeet has a yellow patch on the head and a red frontal band above the beak, whereas the orange-fronted species has a pale yellow patch on its head with an orange band above the beak. Forbes parakeet looks similar to a yellow-crowned parakeet but is only found on Mangere island in the Chatham group of islands.

  The Antipodes Island parakeet is the largest species, followed by the red-crowned parakeet, which is in turn larger than the yellow-crowned and orange-fronted species.

  The orange-fronted parakeet – long thought to be a colour variation of the yellow-crowned parakeet but now confirmed as a distinct species – is described in more detail on a separate fact sheet.

  Where are they found?

  The yellow-crowned parakeet, although rare, can be found throughout forested areas of the North, South and Stewart Islands as well as the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. Yellow-crowned käkäriki prefer tall, unbroken forest and scrub.

  The red-crowned parakeet was widespread throughout the mainland last century but today is very rare on
  the mainland and only common on islands free of mammalian predators. There are a number of other sub-species of red-crowned parakeets that are found on various islands around New Zealand including

  the Chatham Islands, Antipodes Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. The red-crowned prefers to inhabit relatively open spaces in and around forest areas and frequently forages on the ground. It also prefers lower altitudes than the yellow-crowned species.

  The Antipodes Island parakeet occurs only on the Antipodes Islands.

  Red-crowned parakeet J. L. Kendri

  
  

The African grey parrot, grey parrot or Congo African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae.

The African grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot which weighs 400 g, with a length of 33 cm[2] and an average wingspan of 46–52 cm.[3] The tail and undertail coverts are red, in comparison to the maroon of the smaller Timneh parrot. Both sexes appear similar.[2]

The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, however the eye is typically dark grey to black, in comparison to the greyish-yellow eyes of the adult birds. The undertail coverts are also tinged with grey.[2]

African grey parrots are long-lived birds that may live for 40-60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be somewhat shorter at ~23 years.[3]

The African grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Angola. There is much uncertainty in estimates of global population, which range from 0.6-13 million individuals. The species seems to favour dense forests but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types (gallery and savannah forests).[1]

African grey parrots are monogamous breeders which nest in tree cavities. The hen lays 3–5 eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[3]

The African grey parrot is primarily a herbivore, feeding on fruit, nuts, leaves, bark and flowers, but may also take insects.[3]

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild African grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, over 359,000 African grey parrots were traded on the international market. Mortality amongst imported birds is high.[4] As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and has therefore been rated as vulnerable by the IUCN.[1]

The species is common in captivity and is regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets.[1] However, it may be prone to behavioural problems due to its sensitive nature.[4]

African Greys are also highly intelligent, having been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a 4-6 year old child in some tasks. Most notably, Dr. Irene Pepperberg's work with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn over 100 words, differentiating between objects, colors, materials, and shapes. [5]