African parakeet
| African parakeet | ||||||||||
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African parakeet ( Neophema elegans ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Neophema elegans | ||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1837) |
The ornamental parakeet ( Neophema elegans ) is a species of the real parrots that is counted among the grass parakeets . Golden Parakeets occur in two disjoint distribution areas exclusively on the Australian mainland. The gender dimorphism is only slightly pronounced. They are protected by law in Australia. African parakeets are one of the parrot species that have benefited from the clearing of forest areas, especially in southwest Australia. The extensive installation of cattle troughs and other artificial water points has also made it possible for them to colonize semi-arid regions more permanently. Their population increases overall.
Appearance
Ornamental parakeets grow up to 22 centimeters and weigh between 41 and 51 grams. The male has a dark yellow-olive parting, neck and an equally colored top of the body. The rump and the upper tail-coverts, on the other hand, are significantly more yellow. Similar to the fine parakeet , the ornamental parakeets have a deep blue headband. In contrast to the closely related and similar looking parakeets, this one extends behind the eyes. The reins are bright dark yellow. The front half of the cheeks, the chin and the throat are light yellow. The breast is olive colored. The rear, lower side of the body, on the other hand, is bright yellow. In some individuals, there is also a light orange color on the belly. The wing bow is blue. The outer middle wing-covers are light blue, while the inner small and middle wing-covers are yellow-green. The hand coverts and the outer arm wings and the under wing coverts are purple. The beak is gray-black. The iris is dark brown.
Females are similar to males. However, the vertex and the top of the body are a little less yellowish. Individuals with an orange spot on the abdomen are very rare in females.
distribution and habitat
African parakeets occur in two disjoint ranges in both the southwest and southeast of Australia. Unlike the fine parakeets, they do not colonize Tasmania and the islands of the Bass Strait . They colonize sub-humid and semi-arid zones and occur in a large number of open landscapes and habitats that have only sparse tree cover. The habitats inhabited by them also include coasts and inland dunes, marshland and grassland as well as open tree savannahs and pastureland, gallery forests and malls .
At the edges of their range, local migrations are typical for this species. Particularly in the south-west of Australia, however, African parakeets are largely resident birds.
behavior
Golden Parakeets live mostly in pairs or in small flocks during the breeding season. Outside the breeding season, they occasionally form swarms of between twenty and a hundred individuals. They occasionally form flocks mixed with beautiful parakeets and golden parakeets .
Ornamental parakeets feed primarily on the seeds of grass and herbaceous plants. They also eat green parts of plants as well as berries and small fruits. The food is generally taken up on the ground.
African parakeets are cave breeders. They breed in the period from mid-August to late December. It only breeds the female. The incubation period is 18 to 19 days.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ Forshaw, p. 585
- ^ Forshaw, p. 584
- ^ Forshaw, p. 581
- ^ Forshaw, p. 582
- ^ Forshaw, p. 585
- ^ Forshaw, p. 585
literature
- Joseph M. Forshaw : Australian Parrots. 1st German-language edition. Volume 2, Arndt-Verlag, Bretten 2003, ISBN 3-9808245-2-7 .
Web links
- Neophema elegans inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2013.