Variation in Echo Parakeets (Psittacula eques (Boddaert, 1783) [Psittaculidae]) in relation to inter-island differences

Abstract

ABSTRACT The supposed differences in the variation in Psittacula eques (Boddaert, 1783) in birds found on Mauritius in relation to the extinct Réunion population have been disputed for over 150 years. This article argues that individual variation found in adult males in Mauritius is large enough to encompass the meagre details known from the Réunion population, based on a single 18th century specimen, as well as the plumage of a skin in Edinburgh of uncertain provenance claimed by some as from Réunion. We conclude that the populations are not only conspecific, but also almost certainly monotypic.