Plum-headed Parakeet
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| Plum-headed Parakeet | ||||||||||||
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Plum-headed Parakeet ( Psittacula cyanocephala ), male |
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| Psittacula cyanocephala | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The plum-headed parakeet ( Psittacula cyanocephala ) is a species of parrot from the genus of the noble parakeet ( Psittacula ) that is widespread in India .
features
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The plum-headed parakeet reaches a size of 33–37 cm, of which the tail feathers measure about 20–25 cm. The hens are much smaller in this species. The weight of the parakeets is approx. 60 g. The roosters have a striking red head with shades of blue, which is surrounded by a black collar and a black beard. They also have a red patch on their shoulders. As is so often the case in the bird world, the hens are much less conspicuous in terms of plumage and have a gray head with tints of blue or black. The collar tends to have a yellowish frizz, but it can also appear as a black thread. They completely miss the beard and the red patch on the shoulder. The upper bill is orange and the lower bill is black, in both sexes. It has been observed that hens that have laid eggs for several years, or never, acquire the plumage of a rooster. The tail feathers are significantly longer in the males than in the females, the blue tail feathers in the middle end in the females in a short yellowish or white piece. In the males they are longer and lighter.
distribution
The distribution area of the plum-headed parakeet stretches from Sri Lanka via India to West Pakistan , South Nepal and South Bhutan . In this area it lives in the forests and fields of the Indian subcontinent, and can be found at an altitude of up to 1500 meters.
Way of life
These birds join together to form smaller groups. They are only on the move as a single pair during the breeding season. Its food is seeds and shoots of plants and occasionally also smaller insects.
Reproduction
The breeding season of the plum-headed parakeets begins in December and lasts until June. During this time the female is particularly dominant. They are cave breeders, 3–6 eggs are laid in the nests and the young hatch after about 21–23 days after the second egg has been laid. After hatching, the young spend 42 days in the nest. The hen sleeps with the chicks in the nesting box for about 3 more weeks. When the chicks leave the nest, they lose a lot of weight because they do not eat or eat very little for a few days. This is to be as light as possible on the first flight, after the first flight the young are fed for a while by their parents and almost all other adult birds in the flock. The adult birds without young act as godparents for the young birds of the opposite sex.
Hazards and protective measures
Since this species is still relatively common and no known threats are known, it is classified by the IUCN as ( Least Concern ) not endangered.
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literature
- Wolfgang de Grahl: Atlas parrots and parakeets of the world . tape 1 : Parakeets. . Horst Müller, Walsrode 1980, ISBN 3-923269-03-X .
- Dieter Hoppe : Parakeets and parrots . Ulmer, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8001-5566-8 .
- Jiří Felix (eds.), Květoslav Hísek: Asian fauna in color. Translated from the Czech by Ingeborg Šestáková. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1989, p. 56.
Web links
- Psittacula cyanocephala inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Psittacula cyanocephala in the Internet Bird Collection
- The bird network - plum-headed parakeets