Golden-bellied parakeet
| Golden-bellied parakeet | ||||||||||
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Golden-bellied Parakeet ( Neophema chrysogaster ) |
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| Neophema chrysogaster | ||||||||||
| ( Latham , 1790) |
The golden-bellied parakeet ( Neophema chrysogaster ), also called the orange-bellied parakeet , is one of the rarest and therefore very endangered representatives of the genus of the grass parakeets ( Neophema ). The current population is estimated to be 150 to 200 individuals. It is one of the rarest bird species in the Australian fauna . It enjoys special legal protection in Australia and is listed on Appendix I of the Washington Convention on the Protection of Species .
features
With a body length of approx. 20 cm, it is slightly larger than most songbirds. Orange-bellied parakeets weigh between 41 and 51 grams. The light green plumage is interspersed with yellow highlights.
A characteristic glow is a golden yellow to reddish spot in the lower area of the abdomen and a light blue stripe directly above the beak. The front edges of the wings shimmer in a strong royal blue and the underside of the tail is colored yellow. Males and females are largely similar in appearance. The female conspecifics are characterized by a slightly darker plumage, a smaller belly spot and a forehead stripe without a green-blue border. Some of them have white stripes under the wings.
habitat
You can observe the golden-bellied parakeet in Tasmania , especially here in the Southwest National Park . As a migratory bird, this area is not so much its home, but rather its primary breeding area. While the bird spends the summer in south-west Tasmania, in autumn and winter it is mainly on the coasts of Victoria and in South Australia. It shows a similar migratory behavior as its closely related fine parakeet .
Its habitat is almost exclusively the coast or the inland areas near the coast. However, it is not as closely tied to the coastline as the cliff parakeet .
Reproduction
Breeding sites are niches and hollows in eucalyptus trees that can be occupied with up to 6 eggs. A couple usually stays together until the end of their lives, and both maintain the nesting site for up to five years.
behavior
Grass seeds, among other things, form the basis of food for the golden-bellied parakeet, as it mainly lives on the ground. Nevertheless, the area in which the foraging takes place can occupy a radius of five kilometers around the nest.
Protective measures
Thanks to the introduction of a funding program in 1984, the number could be kept stable. However, the scarcity of habitat, especially in winter quarters, and competing bird species continue to threaten the population of the golden-bellied parakeets.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ Forshaw, p. 597
literature
- Joseph M. Forshaw : Australian Parrots. 1st German-language edition. Volume 2, Arndt-Verlag, Bretten 2003, ISBN 3-9808245-2-7 .
Web links
- Neophema chrysogaster in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2013.