Derbyan Parakeet |
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Also known as: Lord Derby's Parakeet, Derby's Parakeet
Male Derbyan Parakeet
© Doug Janson [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL] via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Asiatic or Asian Parakeets have tails that are just as long or longer than the length of their bodies.Academic Research
Related publications: Psittacula derbianaSpecies Profile
Genus: Psittacula | Species: derbiana
Size:
50cm (19.5 in)
Weight:
320g (11.2 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Male-black lower cheeks and forehead stripe extending to eyes; forecrown washed bright blue, becoming blue/green around eyes; rest of head blue/purple; upperparts green; area from throat to lower abdomen lilac/purple; inner middle and secondary wing coverts dull green/yellow forming patch on wing when folded; tail blue tinged with green near base; upper mandible red, lower black. Eye pale yellow. Female-blue on forecrown absent; throat to lower abdomen area duller grey/violet; pink stripe from behind lower cheeks up to hindcrown, black lower cheeks; shorter tail. Bill black.
Colour Juvenile:
Head and throat areas to lower abdomen grey/green, with some feathers margined dull purple/blue; black facial markings more grey; tail short. Bill orange. Eye grey.
Call:
Calls in flight raucous, loud and metallic sounding; also calls resembling that of crows and ravens. Contact calls carry some distance.
Video Links:
Video 1 | Video 2More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
xeno-canto Lord Derby's Parakeet, Szczypinski, Piotr, XC335904
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1977. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.
J. Eaton in litt. 2010, Zeidler and Francis 2011.
Male Derbyan Parakeet
© Doug Janson [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL] via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Asiatic or Asian Parakeets have tails that are just as long or longer than the length of their bodies.Academic Research
Related publications: Psittacula derbianaSpecies Care
Captive Status:
Uncommon; limited breeding.
Longevity:
15-20 yrs
Housing:
Walk-in aviary, minimum length 4.5m (14.7 ft), built without wood.
Diet:
Fruit such as: apple, pear, orange, banana, pomegranate, cactus fruits, etc, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green peas and beans, corn; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; spray millet; small seed mix with canary, millet and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat and safflower; limited sunflower seed soaked or sprouted; cooked beans and pulses and complete kibble.
Enrichment:
Provide lots of bird safe chew items (branches, sterilized pine cones, fir, pine, vegetable tanned leather toys). Provide shallow bathing dish.
Nest Box Size:
Nest and roosting log with 10" (25.4cm) internal diameter and 24" (61cm) height.
Clutch Size:
2 to 4
Incubation Time:
23 days
Fledging Age:
7-8 weeks
Hatch Weight:
Not recorded.
Peak Weight:
Not recorded.
Weaning Weight:
Not recorded.
Male Derbyan Parakeet
© Doug Janson [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL] via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Asiatic or Asian Parakeets have tails that are just as long or longer than the length of their bodies.Academic Research
Related publications: Psittacula derbianaSpecies Wild Status
World Population:
Unknown, decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Near Threatened
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Not globally threatened. Apparently fairly common within its relatively undisturbed range; recorded as usually occurring in large flocks. The species was formerly threatened by the loss of breeding habitat; however, this eased in the 1990s, but old-growth trees are still used for housing and firewood.
Range:
E Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, from Arunachal Pradesh, NE India, and SE Tibet, east in Tsangpo River valley, to SW China in SE Xizang, SW Sichuan and W Yunnan. Isolated group 50km from Simao, Yunnan, S China.
Habitat:
Found in highland forest from 2700-4000m (8856-13,120 ft). Seen in coniferous or mixed Pinus and Quercus forest, also from alpine Rhododendron growth areas. Also reported in cultivated valleys at harvest.
Wild Diet:
Feeds on seeds of Pinus tabulaeformis, catkins of Populus ciliata, pine cones and cultivated fruits and grain.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Gregarious; found in noisy, boisterous flocks of up to several dozen individuals. Rarely seen in pairs or singles.
Clutch and Egg Size:
2 to 4 eggs, 36.0 x 27.5mm (1.4 x 1.1 in)
Breeding Season:
June. Nest is in tree cavity, often Populus ciliata; also seen in sand tunnels, presumably in high riverbanks.
Related Links:
Male Derbyan Parakeet
© Doug Janson [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL] via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Asiatic or Asian Parakeets have tails that are just as long or longer than the length of their bodies.Academic Research
Related publications: Psittacula derbianaMembers Only Resources
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