The Dracula parrot is a common name for the Pesquet’s parrot or the vulturine parrot that’s native to the cloud forests of the foothills and lower mountains of New Guinea.
It has a brilliant scarlet plumage that’s the ideal contrast with the dusty grey back, tail, and chest.
Its striking feathers have unfortunately made it the main target of local poachers that together with the increasing loss of habitat have reduced its numbers in the wild significantly.
A Scary, but Gorgeous Bird
This parrot is quite big and heavy and has almost half a meter from its beak to its tail. It weighs almost a kilo.
It keeps its bulk by feeding mostly on figs that researchers suspect is the reason for its odd semi-bald head too.
Namely, same as vultures lost their head feathers to adapt on the feeding on bloody carcasses, it’s also believed that the similar thing happened to this parrot to respond to the sticky fruit diet-the lack of feathers around the beak and eyes prevent its face from turning into a mess.
Matt Cameron, an expert for parrots from Australia, asks if staying away from soiled head feathers is a major advantage, it’s surprising that baldness isn’t more spread among other parrots that eat fruits mostly.
This parrot is the only member of the subfamily of Indian Ocean island parrots-Psittrichasinae-an indicator that it’s one-of-a-kind even among its kind.
This Dracula parrot doesn’t just look like something you would definitely put on a shoulder of a Disney villain, but it also sounds creepy.
Its call is described as rasping and harsh and it releases a very drawn-out scream while flying.
Want to check out how this parrot looks? Don’t miss the video below:
Sources: