Photos taken in the backyard
Description:
Male Australian King-Parrots are the only Australian parrots with a completely red head. Females are similar to males except that they have a completely green head and breast. Both sexes have a red belly and a green back, with green wings and a long green tail. King parrots are normally encountered in pairs or family groups.
Similar species:
The adult Crimson Rosella, Platycercus elegans, is similar to the male Australian King-Parrot, but differs by having blue cheeks, shoulders, and tail, a whitish, rather than red, bill and a dark eye. Immature Crimson Rosellas also differ from female and immature King-Parrots by having blue cheeks, a whitish bill and a more yellow-green rather than dark green colouring.
Distribution:
King-Parrots are found along the east coast and ranges of Australia, ranging from Cooktown in Queensland through to Port Campbell in Victoria.
Habitat:
King-Parrots are usually found in rainforests or wet sclerophyll forests
Seasonal movements:
Largely sedentary.
Feeding:
The King-Parrot mostly forages in trees for seeds and fruit.
Breeding:
King-Parrots lay their eggs on a bed of decayed wood-dust at the bottom of a deep hollow in the trunk of a tree. Often the entrance is high in the tree (10 m) but the eggs are near the ground (0.5 m).
Living with us
The King-Parrot appears to be increasing in abundance in well-treed suburbs. In urban areas it feeds at artificial feeding stations and fruiting trees.
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