page_title: Newton's parakeet
section_title: Extinction
hierarchical_section_title: Newton's parakeet / Extinction
caption_attribution_description: English: From Leguat, François (1891), The voyage of François Leguat of Bresse, to Rodriguez, Mauritius, Java, and the Cape of Good Hope. 2 Volumes., Edited and annotated by S. Pasfield Oliver, London: Hakluyt Society. It is a facsimile of the frontispiece of: Leguat, François (1708), Voyage et avantures de François Leguat &amp; de ses compagnons en deux isles desertes des Indes Orientales. 2 Volumes., London: Mortier. Shows his settlement in Rodrigues, with tortoises, rats, crabs, a Rodrigues Solitaire and a lizard on a palm trunk. The tortoises are evidently this small species with the domed carapace, the Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise. Français&#160;: La frontispice d'une copie datant du 19ième siècle d'un récit de François Leguat, réfugié huguenot du 18ième siècle.
context_page_description: Newton's parakeet, also known as the Rodrigues parakeet or Rodrigues ring-necked parakeet, is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues in the western Indian Ocean. Several of its features diverged from related species, indicating long-term isolation on Rodrigues and subsequent adaptation. The rose-ringed parakeet of the same genus is a close relative and probable ancestor. Newton's parakeet may itself have been ancestral to the endemic parakeets of nearby Mauritius and Réunion.
  Around 40 centimetres long, Newton's parakeet was roughly the size of a rose-ringed parakeet. Its plumage was mostly greyish or slate blue in colour, which is unusual in Psittacula, a genus containing mostly green species. The male had stronger colours than the female and possessed a reddish instead of black beak, but details of a mature male's appearance are uncertain; only one male specimen is known, and it is believed to be immature. Mature males might have possessed red patches on the wing like the related Alexandrine parakeet. Both sexes had a black collar running from the chin to the nape, but this was clearer in the male.
context_section_description: Of the roughly eight parrot species endemic to the Mascarenes, only the echo parakeet has survived. The others were likely all made extinct by a combination of excessive hunting and deforestation by humans. Leguat stated that Newton's parakeet was abundant during his stay. It was still common when Tafforet visited in 1726, but when Alexandre Pingré mentioned it in 1761, he noted that the bird had become scarce. It was still present on southern islets off Rodrigues (Isle Gombrani), along with the Rodrigues parrot. After this point, much of Rodrigues was severely deforested and used for livestock.
  According to early accounts praising its flavour, it appears visitors commonly ate Newton's parakeet. Several individuals would likely be needed to provide a single meal, owing to the bird's small size. Pingré stated:
  The perruche [Newton's parakeet] seemed to me much more delicate [than the flying-fox]. I would not have missed any game from France if this one had been commoner in Rodrigues; but it begins to become rare. There are even fewer perroquets [Rodrigues parrots], although there were once a big enough quantity according to François Leguat; indeed a little islet south of Rodrigues still retains the name Isle of Parrots [Isle Pierrot].
  According to government surveyor Thomas Corby, Newton's parakeet may still have been fairly common in 1843. Slater reported that he saw a single specimen in southwestern Rodrigues during his three-month stay to observe the 1874 Transit of Venus, and assistant colonial secretary William J. Caldwell saw several specimens in 1875 during his own three-month visit. The male that he received in 1875 and gave to Newton is the last recorded member of the species. A series of cyclones struck the following year and may have devastated the remaining population. Further severe storms hit in 1878 and 1886, and since few forested areas were left by this time, there was little cover to protect any remaining birds. The male could, therefore, have been the last of the species alive.
  There were unfounded rumours of its continued existence until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1967, the American ornithologist James Greenway stated that an extremely small population might still survive on small offshore islets, since this is often the last refuge of endangered birds. Hume countered that these islets were probably too small to sustain a population.
caption: Frontispiece to Leguat's 1708 memoir, showing his settlement on Rodrigues
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