| Blue-winged Parrot | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Genus: | Neophema |
| Species: | N. chrysostoma |
| Binomial name | |
| Neophema chrysostoma (Kuhl, 1820) |
|
The Blue-winged Parrot, Neophema chrysostoma, also known as the Blue-banded Parakeet or Blue-banded Grass-parakeet, is a small parrot (20cm) found in Tasmania and southeast Australia. It is mainly olive green with a blue frontal band reaching from forehead to eye, blue wing coverts, Black primaries, and a yellow belly. The top of its tail is bluish-grey, the sides and undertail are yellow.
It is sexually dimorphic - the females are duller and have more green on the wings.
It is found in savannah woodland, grasslands, orchards, farmlands, marshes, heath, dunes, and other open habitats up to 1200m. Many migrate between Tasmania, where they breed in spring and summer, and Australia, where they winter. They often feed on the ground, eating seeds, blossoms, fruit and insects. Flock size ranges from pairs in breeding season to up to 2,000 birds just before autumn migration.