Paradise Parrot

SCI Name:  Psephotus pulcherrimus
Protonym:  Platycercus pulcherrimus Ann.Mag.Nat.Hist.(1), 15 p.115
Taxonomy:  Psittaciformes / Psittaculidae / Psephotus
Taxonomy Code:  parpar2
Type Locality:  Darling Downs, Queensland.
Author:  Gould
Publish Year:  1845
IUCN Status:  Extinct

DEFINITIONS

PSEPHOTUS
(Psittacidae; Ϯ Red-rumped Parrot P. haematonotus) Gr. ψηφωτος psēphōtos  inlaid with mosaic stones or jewels  < ψηφος psēphos  mosaic stone; Slater et al. 1989, consider the epithet to refer to the pattern of the cheek-feathers of this small parrot, but Gould does not allude to that feature; "PSEPHOTUS HÆMATONOTUS, Gould.   Red-backed Parrakeet.   ...   Their movements on the ground are characterized by much grace and activity, and although assembled in one great mass running over the ground like Plovers, they are generally mated in pairs,—a fact easily ascertained by the difference in the colouring of the sexes; the rich red mark on the rump of the male appearing, as the bright sun shines upon it, like a spot of fire.  ...   rump scarlet; tip and under surface of the shoulder, spurious wing, and the outer edge of the basal half of the primaries rich ultramarine blue; the blue of the shoulder above passing into sulphur-yellow, and forming a conspicuous spot of the latter colour in the centre of the shoulder" (Gould 1845); "Psephotus Gould, Bds. Austr., pt. 19, 1845, pl. [7]; [= 5, pl. 36 of bound volume]. Type, by monotypy, Platycercus haematonotus Gould." (Peters 1937, III, 265). 

pulcherrima / pulcherrimus
L. pulcherrimus  very beautiful  < super. pulcher, pulchra  beautiful.
● ex “Pigeon violet à tête rouge d’Antigue” of Sonnerat 1766 (Alectroenas).