Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Psittaciformes
Superfamily:
Psittacoidea
Family:
Psittaculidae
Subfamily:
Psittaculinae
Tribe:
Polytelini
Genus:
Alisterus
Species:
A. scapularis
Binomial name:
Alisterus scapularis
About
Being brilliantly coloured,
large bird, King Parrots are conspicuous and never fail to impress,
irrespective of how familiar they may be to the observer. The adult male is a
particularly striking bird having a brilliant scarlet head, neck, breast and
abdomen, dark green mantle, back and wings, longitudinal turquoise-green stripe
on the wing coverts, dark blue lower back and rump, black tail feathers and a
red upper mandible, tipped black. The adult female has a dark green head, wings
and back, dull green throat and upper breast tinged red, scarlet lower breast
and abdomen, faint pale green wing stripe, blue lower back and rump, tinged
green and a dark brown mandible.
Size
Australian King Parrots are
rather large birds, averaging between 16 and 18 inches in length from the beak
to the tips of the tail feathers.
Average Lifespan:
In captivity, Australian King
Parrots live an average of 25 to 30 years with proper care.
Habitat
In coastal and high-rainfall
mountain regions, King Parrot are characteristic inhabitants of densely
forested areas, where they frequent a variety of forest communities, including
temperate and subtropical rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and secondary
growth. On the inland side of the Great Dividing Range they favour remanet
patches of wet forest in gullies or along watercourses, but do come regularly
into drier open woodlands. They have been quite successful in colonising urban
habitats and farmlands to utilise manmade feed sources, becoming regular
visitors to parks and gardens. The King Parrot is found in coastal and
contiguous mountain regions of eastern Australia, excluding Tasmania.
Diet
King Parrot feed on seeds,
fruit, berries, nuts, nectar, blossoms, leaf buds, and insects and their
larvae. Seeds of eucalypts, angophoras and acacias make up a major proportion
of the diet, and these are procured mostly in the trees and shrubs.
Breeding
The breeding season lasts
from September or possibly late August, to January. King Parrots nest in a
hollow limb or hole in a tree, usually in the trunk of a tall tree standing in
or at the edge of a forest. A favoured site is in the hollow trunk of an
eucalypt, entrance being where a limb has broken off, and the hollow is usually
very deep with eggs being at or near ground level.
Temperament:
Australian King Parrots are
not overly affectionate birds, and most tend to prefer not to be handled. While
there is the occasional exception, even King Parrots who were hand-fed as
babies tend to not bond as strongly with their owners as some other parrot species,
such as Cockatoos. This is not to say that these
birds are anti-social -- to the contrary, many Australian King Parrots do enjoy
interacting with their owners and even learn to say to a few words. If you are
looking for a "cuddly" parrot, however, then this is probably not the
best species for you.
Colors
Australian King Parrots are a dimorphic bird species. Male
Australian King Parrots have bright red plumage on their heads and chests,
vivid green feathers on their backs and tails, and blue feathers underneath
their wings. Females of the species have green feathers on their heads, backs,
and chests, red on their bellies, and a patch of blue on their rumps. Both
sexes have dark gray skin on their feet and legs.
Feeding
In the wild, Australian King
Parrots feast on a diet of fruits, nuts, berries, seeds, and flowers. In
captivity, as with all pet birds, proper nutrition is essential to a King
Parrot's health. Most King Parrot owners offer their birds a high quality
commercial pellet and seed mix, supplemented with plenty of fresh fruits and
vegetables such as corn, carrots, mango, bananas, and leafy greens like
spinach. Although high in fat, nut treats such as almonds and peanuts are a
favorite of these birds. Whole grains like oats, millet, and quinoa are also
readily accepted at feeding time.
