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3383 Views – 24.4.2012

Australian King Parrot

Greenpatch, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay, ACT.

Featured in: Colour Me Vibrant Red, National Parks of the World, Australian Wildlife, Parrots Only (Birds), Birds! Birds! Birds! and Just for a Giggle

The colours of the male King Parrot are striking, with the head and underparts being vivid scarlet, the back and wings are a rich green and the tail a deep blue. It has pale green markings on its wings. Their eyes have a yellow ring and their bill is red above and blackish below.
The King Parrot can be found along the eastern side of Australia’s mainland, from Cooktown in Queensland and inland to the Carnarvon Ranges, into the NSW wooded coastline and inland to the Warrumbungles National Park, down to the bottom end of Victoria and inland to Wodonga. Their habitat varies to include rainforests, palm forests, eucalypt forests, dense gullies, clearings, coastal woodlands, farms and orchards, parks and gardens.
Their diet consists of leaf buds and new shoots, blossoms, nectar and seeds from natives such as eucalypt and acacia, as well as introduced plants, but they are also known to raid orchards and farms for fruit and vegetables such as apple and corn.
The King Parrot breeds from September to January and builds its nest in tree hollows, high off the ground. Three to five eggs are laid which are incubated by the female for around twenty days. The young are fed initially by the female, but then by both parents once half grown. Young fledge after five weeks. The Parrot is common in its ranges.

Canon PowerShot A650IS