The Mascarene grey parakeet, Mauritius grey parrot, or Thirioux's grey parrot, is an extinct species of parrot which was endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and RĂ©union in the western Indian Ocean. It has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other parrots from the Islands.
Mascarene grey parakeet
1648 engraving depicting the killing of parrots (bottom, possibly this species) and other animals on Mauritius in 1602
The skeletally similar Alexandrine parakeet
Restoration showing a red beak and black collar, as seen in relatives
The broad-billed parrot or raven parrot is a large extinct parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It was endemic to the Mascarene island of Mauritius. The species was first referred to as the "Indian raven" in Dutch ships' journals from 1598 onwards. Only a few brief contemporary descriptions and three depictions are known. It was first scientifically described from a subfossil mandible in 1866, but this was not linked to the old accounts until the rediscovery of a detailed 1601 sketch that matched both the subfossils and the accounts. It is unclear what other species it was most closely related to, but it has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, along with other Mascarene parrots. It had similarities with the Rodrigues parrot, and may have been closely related.
Broad-billed parrot
Woodcut from 1601, with the first published depiction of a broad-billed parrot (5, perched in a tree above).
Lithograph of the now lost subfossil holotype mandible, 1866
Life restoration by Julian P. Hume, with colouration based on contemporary accounts