Hooded Parrot

Psephotellus dissimilis

Content

25,5 to 28 cm.. length and a weight between 50 and 60 g..

The Hooded Parrot (Psephotellus dissimilis) is a very striking species, restricted to the dry forests of the North of Australia. The male has a pileum black, their underparts are Turquoise with a patch in the shoulders golden yellow.

The females are pale green with a pale turquoise diffusion in the cheeks, abdomen and cadwas.

The Golden-shouldered Parrot, with which it is closely linked, is very similar in appearance, but they are only observed in the Cape York Peninsula, in the North of Queensland, and males differ in their tones slightly. The Hooded Parrot does the yellow colour in the forecrown or in the lores and the yellow markings of the shoulders and reddish of the belly, they are smaller than. The females they are very similar, but the Golden-shouldered Parrot It shows a faint red marks on the area, white, bass belly, has the undertail- coverts Bluish, bluish color of the belly is absent and the undertail- coverts They have a pinkish tone; also has a Brown Suffusion in the crown, a forecrown yellowish and the cheeks they are greener.

The Northern Rosella shares territory with the Hooded Parrot and also has a pileum black, but it lacks of the underparts Turquoise and yellow markings on the wings.

The Hooded Parrot they have an elegant flight, and males they are very bright with a Flash of bright yellow showing in the wings. The flight fast and slightly wavy. Bird perch, times, phone cables, and can make long flights at high altitude.

Providing more detail to its description, the Hooded Parrot has the pileum, lores and the area below and in front of the eyes, black, merging into grey-brown colour in the the mantle (darker uppers than the Golden-shouldered Parrot). The rump is turquoise blue and the uppertail-coverts green. Wing coverts golden yellow (grey dark in vane inner).

Flight feathers Blackish with difusion-verde turquoise at the edge of the vane outer (thin yellow color at the outer edge). feathers of the wings and bend of wing bluish green; underside of flight feather blackish brown. The cheeks, the neck and the chest Turquoise, lightly coated with emerald green; rest of the underparts Turquoise with the exception of undertail- coverts they are orange-red with yellow tips. Uppertail dark bars.

Central feathers of the tail Green bronze with black tips, side green blue with white tips, with a blackish central bar; undertail, the tail apparently light blue with black tips when it is closed. Bill pale grey; irises dark brown; legs light brown.

The female is usually pale, a light yellowish green, with wing-coverts a bright yellowish-green, flight feather blackish, and a turquoise color broadcasting in the rump, from the top of the breast to belly, and vaguely in the cheeks. Subcaudales coverts bathed in Pink salmon; pale marks in the wings.

The immature they are like the females, but males have the head darker and the cheeks bright. Adult plumage they would earn in the second annual moult.

The very young birds they have the peaks yellow.

Sedentary, although some early records of the Melville Island probably related to post-breeding dispersal. Scattered sparsely through the open dry forests, flooded Plains, especially grasslands of Malaleuca-dominated and Spinifex Triodia, grasslands with termite mounds, also in rows of eucalyptus trees along watercourses and the rocky ridges.

Usually, they are in pairs or in small groups, but after the breeding season, from September (end of the dry season) onwards, they may gather in groups of up to 100 birds feeding.

Egg-laying range from late January until mid-April, at the end of the rainy season, and the nest is a tunnel in a Termite Mound. The direction and height of the entrance of the nest is variable, but nest chamber temperatures are more stable inside larger mounds. A recent study of nesting ecology in the Northern Territory showed a density of 0,45 to 0,70 nests per square kilometer, with a 50% from eggs producing hatchlings. Between two and six eggs make up the clutch, and are incubated for around 20 days for the female. In about five weeks the young leave the nest.. The females., sometimes, they roost far from their nests during the heat of the day.

The diet is composed, mainly, of pasture seeds seasonal during the dry season and perennial plants during the wet season. Variation in the ability to master feeding techniques for different seed types may explain the apparent early dispersal of immatures in the wet season.. Birds feed quietly on the ground, resting in foliage near water during the heat of the day. When drinking, they often walk into the water along banks of sand. They are sometimes seen feeding on road verges, often in association with the Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus).

Endemic to North of Australia where is located in the western part of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, from the South of the alligator river, to the southwest of Pine Creek and the South-East of Include. The birds also disperse further east and west to the rivers. Roper and upper area of the Daly.

The Hooded Parrot formerly extended eastward to the MacArthur river, but its territory, covering the Kakadu National Park, has recently been hired.

In general, It Rare. Although now it is fully protected. Capture is believed to it has been a problem in the past. Burning and grazing may limit the availability of herbs seeds during the dry season.

Mining also threatens the habitat of the species. There are a moderate number of birds in captivity.

• Current category of the Red List of the UICN: Least concern

• Population Trend: Stable

The world population is estimated at 20.000 specimens (Garnett and Crowley 2000).

Population trends have not been quantified, but populations seem to be stable, without descents recent (Garnett and Crowley 2000).

The species remains common in areas under park management. Aboriginal and National, where grazing is minimal and where there are programs that guarantee their survival, or around the Rocky slopes, where is the availability of food in the rainy season relatively assured.

Although the popularity of the Hooded Parrot has increased considerably in the last decade, this species is still quite unknown in aviculture. The main reason is, probably, that they are not easy to care for and reproduce in captivity, due to its high demands care and difficulty it in terms of its food supply. The Hooded Parrot they are not recommended for a beginner breeder birds.

No one knows exactly when these birds were imported for the first time to Europe, but it was probably at the beginning of the last century. In the autumn of 1912 English Hubert Astley was the one who obtained the first satisfactory breeding result with the Hooded Parrot, got 4 young people from a litter of 5. in the netherlands, the Dr. Polak It also had results before the second world war. Once the pups are born, they were taken along with a couple of Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) with which they grew up without any problem.

There is a variety of the Hooded Parrot because different crosses with other species such as Mulga Parrot (Psephotellus varius) and the the Golden-shouldered Parrot (Psephotellus chrysopterygius). So, we must pay attention to the characteristics when we are going to buy a pair of future reproducers of this species. If you have doubts about the purity of certain birds, consult with a person who is familiar with this type of parrots.

In terms of the behavior, the Hooded Parrot adapt to the European climate relatively well, although they are sensitive to cold and wet weather. They are quiet birds, enable, not shy and quickly adapt to their caregiver. His voice is not worrying. Love these birds being on the ground, where spend much time. They love to swim and are not rodents of wood. During the breeding season they are aggressive towards other birds.. Even outside the breeding season, It is not advisable to fit them with their peers or keep them with other bird species. Young birds together may stay in a birdhouse. As a basic rule, Ave predict an area of one square meter.

It is not known exactly how these birds can live, according to sources, one specimen was still alive after 18 years in captivity

– Hooded Parrot, Antbed Parrot, Anthill Parrot, Black-hooded Parakeet, Black-hooded Parrot, Golden-shouldered Parrot, Hooded Parakeet (ingles).
– Perruche à capuchon noir (French).
– Collettsittich, Hooded Sittich (German).
– Periquito-encapuzado (Portuguese).
– Perico Capirotado, Periquito encapuchado (español).

– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittaculidae
– Genus: Psephotellus
– Scientific name: Psephotellus dissimilis
– Citation: Collett, 1898
– Protonimo: Psephotus dissimilis

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“Hooded Parrot” (Psephotellus dissimilis)

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