Red-winged Parrot
Aprosmictus erythropterus
Bright pale-green parrot with a red shoulder patch; note blue rump in flight. Male has black back. Occurs in a wide variety of habitats where it feeds primarily in trees. Flight style recalls a large pigeon.
Identification
The red-winged parrot is typically about 30 to 33 cm (12–13 in) in length. Both sexes have bright red wings and a bright green body. The male birds have a black nape, lower blue back and rump with a yellow tip on their tail, an orange bill and grey feet. The female birds have a yellowish-green body and the wings have red and pink trimmings. Also distinguishing the females are dark irises and the lower back is a light blue colour. Juveniles have orange/yellow beaks and pale brown irises, and otherwise resemble females in colouration. Males develop adult plumage at about the age of two years and females at the age of about a year and a half.
Taxonomy
The red-winged parrot was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erythropterus. Gmelin based his description on the "crimson-winged parrot" that had been described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his A General Synopsis of Birds. The red-winged parrot is now placed with the jonquil parrot in the genus Aprosmictus that was introduced in 1842 by the English ornithologist John Gould. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek απροσμικτος/aprosmiktos meaning "unsociable" or "solitary". The specific epithet erythropterus combines the Ancient Greek ερυθρος/eruthros meaning "red" with -πτερος/-pteros meaning "-winged. Alternative common names include crimson-winged parrot and blood-winged parrot.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:<p>Naturally-occurring hybrids with the Australian king parrot (Alisterus scapularis) have been recorded from Bell in southeastern Queensland.
- Scientific name
- Aprosmictus erythropterus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Aprosmictus
Range and habitat
Their range is from the Pilbara, Western Australia to Cape York Peninsula, Queensland (to be seen almost all over Queensland) and as south as northeast South Australia. They are occasionally spotted in south New Guinea. These birds inhabit riverine forests, forest edges, acacia scrub, savanna, mangroves, and farmlands. They are seen often in pairs or flocks near water.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
The birds typically breed in spring and summer, but breeding times depends on their location. A hollow space in a tree at a height of 11 m from the ground usually acts as nest for breeding . Generally, three to six white eggs are laid per season, the eggs being 31 mm in length. The female incubates while the male searches for food. The chicks stay with their parents for about five weeks. It has been hybridised with the Australian king parrot.[citation needed] The hybrid is fertile and breeds true to form. [citation needed]<p>Their diet typical consists of seeds from eucalyptus, acacia, berries, flowers, and insects. The birds' call are ching-ching, chink-chink or thin screeching.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Abyssinian Longclaw
Macronyx flavicollis
A large and relatively colorful member of the pipit family. Note the black necklace, orange throat, and partially yellow eye-stripe. The white corners of the black tail are conspicuous during the weak, fluttering flight. Found on the ground in montane grassland, often in wet areas. Brownish immatures can be confused with pipits, but are larger and more robust. The vocalizations include “tsik” calls and whistles.
Malagasy Pond-Heron
Ardeola idae
Chunky, short-legged heron. All white with a black-tipped blue bill and bright red legs in breeding plumage. Dark brown with white wings and belly in non-breeding plumage. Found in a variety of freshwater wetlands, though generally rare. Distinctive in breeding plumage, but easily confused with Squacco Heron in non-breeding plumage, when Malagasy Pond-Heron can be carefully distinguished by the much darker brown color on most of the body, which contrasts sharply with the white belly and wing.
Abyssinian White-eye
Zosterops abyssinicus
A small, sharp-billed warbler-like bird. Note the yellow throat, gray underparts, and narrow white spectacles around the eyes. Found in woodland, montane forest edge, mangroves, gardens, and scrub. Usually in hyperactive flocks, often joining mixed-species flocks. Similar to Heuglin’s White-eye, and some individuals are difficult to separate, but generally shows a narrower eye-ring. Most common call is a high-pitched rising rattle. Song is a quiet, chatty sequence of “chew” notes.
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