Turquoise Parrot
A species of Grass parrots Scientific name : Neophema pulchella Genus : Grass parrots
Turquoise Parrot, A species of Grass parrots
Botanical name: Neophema pulchella
Genus: Grass parrots
Content
Description General Info
Description
Ranging from 20 to 22 cm (8–8⁄4 in) long with a 32 cm (12 ⁄2 in) wingspan, the turquoise parrot is a small and slightly built parrot weighing around 40 g (1 ⁄2 oz). Both sexes have predominantly green upperparts and yellow underparts. The male has a bright turquoise-blue face which is darkest on the crown and slightly paler on the lores, cheeks and ear coverts. The neck and upperparts are grass-green, and the tail is grass-green with yellow borders. The wing appears bright blue with a darker leading edge when folded, with a band of red on the shoulder. The underparts are bright yellow, slightly greenish on the breast and neck. Some males have orange patches on the belly, which may extend to the breast. When extended, the wing is dark blue with red on the trailing edge on the upper surface, and black with dark blue leading coverts underneath. The upper mandible of the bill is black and may or may not fade to grey at the base, while the lower mandible is cream with a grey border in the mouth. The cere and orbital eye-ring are grey and the iris is dark brown. The legs and feet are grey. Generally duller and paler, the female has a more uniform and paler blue face, with highly contrasting cream bare skin around the eye. It lacks the red shoulder band, and the blue shoulder markings are darker and less distinct. The throat and chest are pale green and the belly is yellow. The upper mandible is paler brown-grey with a darker tip, and has been recorded as black while nesting. The lower mandible is pale grey to almost white. When flying, the female has a broad white bar visible on the underwing. Juvenile birds of both sexes have less extensive blue on their faces, the coloration not extending past the eye. The upperparts resemble those of the adult female. Both sexes have the white wing-stripe, which disappears with maturity in males. The immature male has a red patch on the wing and may also have an orange wash on the belly. 
Size
20 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Turquoise Parrot primarily consume seeds, fruit, and flowers, foraging in open woodlands. Seeds from plants such as common fringe-myrtle and big quaking grass are common in their diet. They forage in pairs or groups, often at ground level in shaded areas, showing seasonal variation in flock size. Unique behaviors include using tea-tree leaves for possible pest deterrence.
Habitat
Turquoise Parrot typically inhabit open forests and woodlands, as well as native grasslands. They show a pronounced preference for ecotones, which are transitional areas between open and more densely vegetated habitats, such as the edge of forests and heaths. These birds are also found in areas adjacent to farmlands and display an affinity for environments that feature specific vegetation like Eucalyptus albens, utilizing varied terrain such as rocky ridges and moist lowlands depending on the season.
Dite type
Granivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
Turquoise parrots are encountered in pairs or small groups consisting of parents and several offspring, though they may congregate into larger flocks of up to 75 predominantly juvenile birds outside the breeding season. As the breeding season nears, pairs separate out from these flocks. Turquoise parrots roost together communally in autumn and winter. At night they roost among the foliage of trees such as gums or wattles, anywhere from 1 to 8 m (3–25 ft) above the ground. They retreat to trees near their feeding areas during the day. The calls of the turquoise parrot have been little-studied; birds give a high-pitched soft contact call when feeding or in flight, while the alarm call has been described as a high-pitched zitting call. Turquoise parrots also chatter when settling to roost in the evening.
Distribution Area
The turquoise parrot is found in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and surrounding areas. The northern limit of its range is 26° south in southeastern Queensland, around Cooloola, Blackbutt and Chinchilla, extending westwards to the vicinity of St George. Before 1945, it had been recorded as far north as the Suttor River and Mackay. In New South Wales, it is found in a broad band across the central and eastern parts of the state, with its western limits delineated by Moree, Quambone, Hillston, Narrandera and Deniliquin. There have been unconfirmed sightings in the far west of the state. In Victoria it is found in the vicinity of Wangaratta as well as East Gippsland and around Mallacoota. Sightings in South Australia are likely to have been the scarlet-chested parrot, the similar appearance of the females leading to confusion and misidentification. The turquoise parrot inhabits open woodland and savanna woodland composed either of native cypress (Callitris species) or eucalypts, particularly white box (Eucalyptus albens), yellow box (E. melliodora), Blakely's red gum (E. blakelyi), red box (E. polyanthemos), red stringybark (E. macrorhyncha), bimble box (E. populnea), or mugga ironbark (E. sideroxylon), and less commonly Angophora near Sydney, silvertop ash forest (E. sieberi) in Nadgee Nature Reserve, and stands of river red gum (E. camaldulensis), mountain swamp gum (E. camphora) or western grey box (E. microcarpa) in flatter more open areas. Within this habitat, it prefers rocky ridges or gullies, or transitional areas between different habitats, such as between woodland and grassland or fields in cultivated areas. The turquoise parrot is considered sedentary and does not migrate, though its movements are not well known. Birds are present in some areas all year, though in northern Victoria they are thought to move into more open areas outside the breeding season. Some populations may be locally nomadic, following availability of water.
Species Status
Around 90% of the turquoise parrot population resides in New South Wales. The species is not listed as threatened on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, though a status of near threatened was proposed by Stephen Garnett and Gabriel Crowley in their 2000 work The Action Plan for Australian Birds on account of the significant reduction in distribution. Its population and range have varied wildly; widely distributed across eastern Australia from Mackay to Melbourne up to the 1880s, it vanished from much of its range to the extent that it was presumed extinct in 1915. It was not recorded from Queensland between 1923 and 1950, and Victoria between the mid-1880s and 1949. However, numbers in New South Wales began increasing in the 1930s and the species had repopulated East Gippsland by the 1960s. Tentatively estimated at 20,000 breeding birds in 2000, the population is thought to be still rising.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Parrots Family
Parrots Genus
Grass parrots Species
Turquoise Parrot 
Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
