Mascarene Parrot

Based on a colored engraving by Jacques Barraband from F. Levaillant’s Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Vol 2, Paris, 1801-5.

Wikipedia says: The Mascarene Islands (or Mascarenhas Archipelago) is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Agaléga, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks.

Errol Fuller says: “In all probability, the very last living Mascarene Parrot was kept, far from its natural home, in the Zoological Gardens of the King of Bavaria in Munich.”

Mascarene Parrot

The Mascarene Parrot had a large red bill and long, rounded tail feathers. Its legs were red, and it had naked red skin around the eyes and nostrils. It was native to the Mascarene Island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. Only two stuffed specimens exist today, in Paris and Vienna. The date and cause of extinction for the Mascarene Parrot is unclear, but it is probable that the species became extinct prior to 1800, and may have become extinct in the wild even earlier.