Bourke's Parrot

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Bourke's Parrot
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Superfamily: Psittacoidea
Family: Psittaculidae
Subfamily: Psittaculinae
Tribe: Pezoporini
Genus: Neopsephotus
Mathews, 1912
Species: N. bourkii
Binomial name
Neopsephotus bourkii
(Gould, 1841)

The Bourke's Parrot (Neopsephotus bourkii, formerly known as Neophema bourkii), also known as the Bourke's Parakeet, Bourke or "Bourkie", is a small parrot originating in Australia and the only species in its genus Neopsephotus. This species is sometimes placed in the genus Neophema and there is an ongoing discussion about the proper taxonomic placement of this species. It is a grass parrot approximately 19 cm long and weighing around 45 grams.[2] It is named after General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837.

Description

Pair of wild Bourke's parrots, SW Queensland, Australia.

Wildtype (natural coloured) Bourke's Parakeet display a basically brown overall colouration with pink abdomen, pinkish breast & a blue rump. The legs are dark-brown, with zygodactyl toes. The bill is yellowish-brown. The adult male has a blue forehead while the adult female has a little or no blue on the forehead. The Bourke's parrot's feathers help the species blend in with the reddish soil of its home.[3]

Diet

Bourke's parrots forage on the ground for grasses and seeds. They are most active feeding at dusk and dawn.[3]

Breeding

The Bourke's Parrot has a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs, which are incubated by the female for 18–19 days, with the chicks fledging at about 4 weeks of age. The female also feeds and tends to the chicks by herself. While the female Bourke's Parrot is incubating the eggs, and also while she is feeding the chicks in the nest, she is fed by the male Bourke's Parrot.[4]

Eulo Bore, SW Queensland, Australia
At Flying High Bird Habitat, Queensland. The adult male has blue on its forehead.
Rosa Mutation


References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neopsephotus bourkii.
Wikispecies has information related to: Neopsephotus bourkii
  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Neopsephotus bourkii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ Bourke's Parrot or Neopsephotus bourkii
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Bourke's Parrot Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo"
  4. ↑ "Field Guide to Australian Birds", Morcombe, Michael, Steve Parish Publishing, Australia, 2000 ISBN 1-876282-10-X
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