Turquoise Parrot

Turquoise Parrot
Male (left) and female (right) at Rainbow Jungle, Australia
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Superfamily:	Psittacoidea
Family:	Psittaculidae
Subfamily:	Psittaculinae
Tribe:	Pezoporini
Genus:	Neophema
Species:	N. pulchella
Binomial name
Neophema pulchella (Shaw, 1792)
Synonyms
Psittacus edwardsii Bechst. Lathamus azureus Lesson

The Turquoise Parrot (Neophema pulchella) is a parrot of the grass parrot genus Neophema native to Eastern Australia, from southeastern Queensland, through New South Wales and into north-eastern Victoria. A small parrot at around 20 cm (8 in) long, it exhibits sexual dimorphism. The male is predominantly green in colour and more yellowish below with a bright turquoise blue face and red shoulders on the predominantly blue wings. The female is generally duller and paler, with a pale green breast and yellow belly, and lacks the red wing patch.

It is found in grasslands and open woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus and Callitris species, and feeds on grasses, seeds and nectar. It nests in hollows of gum trees. Much of its habitat has been altered and potential nesting sites removed. Populations appear to be recovering from a crash in the early 20th century.

Taxonomy and naming

Well known around the Sydney district at the time of settlement in 1788, the Turquoise Parrot was described by George Shaw as Psittacus pulchellus in 1792,^[2] the species name pulchellus being Latin for "very pretty" and referring to its plumage. He called it the Turquoisine after its turquoise face patch.^[3] The holotype likely ended up in the Leverian collection in England, and was lost when the collection was broken up and sold.^[4] German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein gave it the scientific name Psittacus edwardsii in 1811, based on François Levaillant's description of the species as la Perruche Edwards in his 1805 work Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets.^[4] Levaillant named it in honour of the English naturalist George Edwards.^[5] René Primevère Lesson described it as Lathamus azureus in 1830,^[4] the species name being the Medieval Latin word azureus "blue".

There is little geographical variation, with some minor local differences in the amount of orange on the belly.^[6] In 1915, Gregory Mathews described a subspecies dombrainii from Victoria on the basis of more prominent red on the scapulars; however, this distinction was not confirmed on review with New South Wales specimens,^[4][7] and hence no subspecies are recognised. One of six species of grass parrot in the genus Neophema, it is most closely related to the Scarlet-chested Parrot.^[8] The two are an allopatric species pair,^[9] and are the only two species in the genus to exhibit marked sexual dimorphism.^[8]

The English common name of the Turquoise Parrot has varied between Chestnut-shouldered Parakeet, Chestnut-shouldered Grass-parakeet,^[10] Chestnut-shouldered Grass-parrot,^[10] Chestnut-winged Grass-parakeet,^[10] Chestnut-winged Grass-Parrot^[10] and Turquoisine Grass Parrot, this last name commonly used in aviculture.^[11] The name Red-shouldered Parakeet was incorrectly applied to this species.^[12]

Description

Ranging from 20 to 22 cm (8-8.7 in) long with a 32 cm (12.5 in) wingspan, the Turquoise Parrot is a small and slightly-built parrot weighing around 40 g (1.4 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. Its neck and upperparts are grass-green, and 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 its 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 thebase, while the lower mandible is cream with a grey border in the mouth. The cere and orbital ring are grey and the iris is dark brown. The legs and feet are grey.^[3]

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 its blue shoulder markings are darker and less distinct. The throat and chest are pale green and 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 its underwing.^[3]

Juvenile birds of both sexes have less extensive blue faces, the coloration not extending past the eye. The upperparts resemble the adult female.^[13] Both sexes have the white wing-stripe, which disappears with maturity in males.^[14] The immature male has a red patch on the wing and may also have an orange wash on the belly.^[13] Nestlings have pink skin and sparse white or silvery-white feathers at birth, as well as a darker blue-grey skin around the eye. Their eyes open by day seven, and they are covered with grey down by day seven or eight.^[13]

Distribution and habitat

The Turquoise Parrot is found in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and surrounding areas.^[15] 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. Previously 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.^[16] Sightings in South Australia are likely to have been the Scarlet-chested Parrot,^[16] the similar appearance of the females leading to confusion and misidentification.^[8]

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.^[15]

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 are thought to move into more open areas outside the breeding season. Some populations may be locally nomadic, following availability of water.^[17]

Conservation status

Australia

The Turquoise Parrot is not listed as threatened on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, though it has been classified as near threatened by Garnett and Crowley in 2000.^[18] Its population and range have varied wildly; widely distributed across eastern Australia from Mackay to Melbourne, 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, but had repopulated East Gippsland by the 1960s. Numbers in New South Wales began increasing in the 1930s.^[17] The population was tentatively estimated at 20,000 breeding birds in 2000, with around 90% residing in New South Wales, and is thought to be increasing.^[18]

New South Wales

Once common across the Sydney region, and particularly abundant between the localities of Parramatta and Penrith, the Turquoise Parrot dramatically declined in numbers over twenty years from 1875 to 1895. Rare sightings in western Sydney and the Blue Mountains were recorded in the mid-twentieth century.^[2] Almost all of its preferred habitat, the Cumberland Plain, across western Sydney, had disappeared with development. Turquoise Parrots were trapped for the aviary trade and used as pie filling.^[19] In 2000, it was listed as a Vulnerable species under Schedule 2 of the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 because of habitat destruction (TSC Act).^[20] Over half the woodland in New South Wales, and 80% across Australia has been cleared. The remaining habitat is fragmented.^[21] A key issue is removal of mature eucalypts with resulting loss of hollows available for nesting.^[22] Fire-burning regimes may be resulting in the regeneration favouring shrubs rather than grasses, which the are the preferred food source for the species.^[18] Feral cats and foxes are a threat, particularly to nesting birds and young.^[21]

Victoria

Although formerly common in its range, the species was on the brink of extinction in Victoria by 1917. However, numbers have built up again since the 1930-40s as it reestablishes in its former territory.^[23] On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, this species is listed as near threatened.^[24]

Behaviour

Turquoise Parrots are encountered in pairs or small groups consisting of parents and several offspring. Outside the breeding season, birds may congregate into larger flocks of up to 50 to 75 birds. These are predominantly juveniles. As the breeding season nears, pairs separate out from these flocks.^[25]

At night, Turquoise Parrots roost in the foliage of trees such as gums or wattles. During the day, they retreat to trees near their feeding areas.^[16]

Sundown NP, S.Queensland, Australia

Feeding

The Turquoise Parrot is a predominantly ground-based seed eater,^[19] foraging in clearings in open woodland, forest margins, and near trees in more open areas such as pastures. It occasionally feeds along road verges and rarely ventures onto lawns.^[15] Birds forage in pairs or small troops of up to thirty or even fifty individuals. Observations at Chiltern in Victoria indicated seasonal variation in flock size, with Turquoise Parrots foraging in groups of 5-30 in winter and 6-8 in spring and summer. Foraging takes place from early in the morning till late afternoon, with a break between midday and mid-afternoon.^[17]

Grass and shrub seeds form the bulk of the diet, and leaves, flowers, fruit and scale insects are also eaten.^[17] It has been recorded feeding on seeds of species of the pea genus Dillwynia, small-leaved beard-heath (Leucopogon microphyllus), as well as the introduced common chickweed (Stellaria media) and capeweed (Arctotheca calendula).^[23] Spores from moss have been recorded as food items.^[2]

A female was observed placing leaves of the flaky-barked tea-tree (Leptospermum trinervium) underneath its feathers, leading the observers to wonder whether they were being used to deter or kill insects.^[2]

Breeding

Breeding has been reported from Girraween National Park on the New South Wales-Queensland border in the north to Wangaratta and Mallacoota in Victoria.^[16] Birds use vertical or nearly-vertical hollows of live and dead trees, generally eucalypts, as nesting sites. Occasionally old fence posts have been used.^[26] The tree containing the hollow is often located in open woodland.

Breeding takes place over the warmer months with eggs laid from August to January.^[26]

The Turquoise Parrot is monogamous.^[25]

The clutch consists of two to five (or rarely eight) round or oval glossy white eggs. Earlier clutches tend to have more eggs than later clutches. Eggs are laid at an interval of two to three days each.^[26] The female incubates the eggs and broods the young, and feeds them for their first few days before the male begins helping.^[25]

Pathogens

In 1966, a paramyxovirus with some antigenic similarity to Newcastle disease was isolated from the brain of a Turquoise Parrot in the Netherlands. That year, many aviary species including several species of Australian parrot and members of the genus Neophema had exhibited neurological symptoms reminiscent of Newcastle disease.^[27] Like other members of the genus, the Turquoise Parrot is highly sensitive to avian paramyxovirus infection.^[28] it is one of many species of parrot that can host the nematode Ascaridia platyceri.^[29]

Aviculture

Female

Initially popular as a caged bird in the 19th century,^[30] the Turquoise Parrot was rarely seen in captivity between 1928 and 1956, the main problem being the high rate of infertile eggs. It has become more common since, and has adapted readily to aviculture. A quiet species, it likes to bathe in captivity.^[11] There is a possibility of interbreeding with other members of the genus Neophema if caged together.^[31] Specimens with more prominent orange bellies have been bred, sourced from wild birds in New South Wales and not from breeding with Scarlet-chested Parrots.^[31] A yellow form, where the yellow and red pigments are conserved alone, first appeared in the 1950s in aviculture. It is a recessive mutation.^[32] Other colour forms seen are a red-fronted and pied form (both recessive), and jade and olive (dominant).^[33]

References

Cited texts

• Higgins, P.J. (1999). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553071-3. 
• Lendon, Alan H. (1973). Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-12424-8. 
• Shephard, Mark (1989). Aviculture in Australia: Keeping and Breeding Aviary Birds. Prahran, Victoria: Black Cockatoo Press. ISBN 0-9588106-0-5. 

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