Blossom-headed Parakeet
Psittacula roseata
A rather small green parakeet found in lowland and foothill open forests and forest edges. In protected areas of its range, it often frequents farm edges and rural villages. Male is unmistakable in its range; the plum-red head and lime-green body together are diagnostic. Female is duller but visibly smaller than most other long-tailed parakeets in the region, with a gray head; unlike the male Gray-headed Parakeet, she lacks a thin black collar.
Identification
Himalayapsitta roseata is a lime-green parrot, 30 cm (12 in) long with a tail up to 18 cm (7.1 in). The male's head is pink becoming pale blue on the back of the crown, nape and cheeks. There is a narrow black neck collar and a black chin stripe. There is a red shoulder patch and the rump and tail are bluish-green, the latter tipped yellow. The upper mandible is yellow, and the lower mandible is dark. The female has a pale grey head and lacks the black neck collar and chin stripe patch. The lower mandible is pale. Immature birds have a green head and a grey chin. Both mandibles are yellowish and there is no red shoulder patch. The different head colour and the yellow tip to the tail distinguish this species from the similar plum-headed parakeet (H. cyanocephala).
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Psittacula roseata
- Authority
- Biswas, 1951
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Psittacula
Range and habitat
This species is a resident breeder in Eastern Bangladesh, Bhutan, Northeast India and Nepal, eastwards into Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) and also China. Blossom-headed parakeet inhabits lowland and foothill open forests and forest edges.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Blossom-headed parakeet nests in holes in trees, laying 4-5 white eggs. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit and blossoms which make up its diet. It is a gregarious and noisy species with range of raucous calls.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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