Mulga Parrot

Psephotus varius

Austin Hobart Clark was the first to describe the species, in 1910.

Psephotus is from the Greek psephotos (inlaid with mosaic stones or jewels), inspired by the richly coloured spots of red on the rump and the sulphur-yellow on the shoulders of the male Red-rumped Parrot, the first in the genus to be described; varius is Latin for variegated or diverse.

Herbert Goodchild, Psephotus varius (Many-coloured Parrot) 1916–1917
(adult female, left; adult male, right)

Author’s note: The Mulga Parrot was actually named in 1820 by Heinrich Kuhl, but the name he gave it, Psephotus multicolor, had already been used, as Austin Clark pointed out in 1910. Hence, Clark garnered the honour of naming the species.

John Gould (artist), Henry Constantine Richter (lithographer), Psephotus multicolor (Many-coloured Parrakeet) 1848 

(adult female, top; adult male, bottom)

Author’s note: This illustration is the first published of the species.