There
are many different types
of parrots in Australia.
Parrots are the most colourful group of Australian birds. They are
very easy to see because they are always flying around or feeding in
trees in large noisy groups.
You don’t need to go to the bush looking
for them – Australia’s most beautiful birds are even found in city
streets.
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Facts about Parrots and Cockatoos
Parrots and cockatoos are two different families of birds that belong
to the same order, Psittaciformes.
Although they are found on all the tropical and subtropical continents
in the world such as India, Africa, South-east Asia and southern
regions in North America, by far the most of the world’s 350 species of
parrots and cockatoos are found in Australia
and South America. Because they are mainly found in the Southern
Hemisphere, it is believed that they evolved on Gondwana
continent.
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Types of Parrots of the Southern Hemisphere
Early
naturalists called Australia the Land of Parrots – for a good reason.
There is no single place in this country where you find no Australian
parrots. Some species cover many different habitats, others are
more
specialised, but wherever you go in Australia, whether it’s tropical
rainforests, arid deserts or temperate eucalypt forests, there are
always some parrots.
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What Do the Different Types of Parrots Eat
The most obvious characteristic of parrots is their strong curved bill.
Exactly what parrots
eat
depends on the species. Most eat seeds, nectar, fruit and pollen, some
species even insects
when feeding young. Parrots are also most often very colourful birds,
with a green, blue, red, and yellow-coloured plumage. So what about
camouflage, many people wonder. But watch the parrots in trees and you
notice that they are camouflaged - their backs are
often green
as the tree canopy, and heads are colourful as the flowers they eat.
Many species have several colours but they match the trees they visit
and blossoms they eat. In fact, if parrots weren’t so noisy, it
wouldn’t be so easy to see them.
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How Long Do Different Types of Parrots Live?
Parrots live for a long time, but exactly how
long do parrots live
depends on the type of parrot. They in life-long bonds and even though
most parrot species
socialise in large groups, a couplea is always close to each other
even outside the breeding season. They play
together, touch and cling to each other, and feed each other. Although
there are some ground-dwelling species, parrots most often nest in tree
hollows. In most species the female incubates the eggs, while the male
is feeding her, and after 17-35 days depending of the species, the eggs
hatch. The newly-hatched are naked and blind in some parrot species.
Like cockatoos, they have long lives, some large species of parrots may
live up to
100 years.
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Types of Parrots in Australia as Pets
Parrots (and cockatoos)
are the most intelligent of all birds. They become easily tame if among
people, and can imitate all sorts of noises, including peoples’ words.
Some parrots have been known to learn to use tools, solve puzzles and
count objects, and in a study in Africa a parrot did not only mimic
words but learned to understand them, like human kids do. It had a
growing vocabulary of about one thousand words and it used them in
correct tense and correct content. Because of their affectionate and
sociable nature, pretty colours and intelligence, parrots make lovely
pets and their wild populations have been threatened by over-trading in
many countries. Unless bred in captivity through many generations, the
naturally sociable and active parrots would not enjoy a life-long
imprisonment in a cage, particularly when alone - so make sure you buy
one that has been bred in captivity. Australia banned the export of its
native birds in 1960,
and penalties for smuggling are heavy.
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Types of Parrots in Australia - Crimson Rosella
There are 39 species of parrots in Australia but here are two
strikingly beautiful ones, both so common that you don’t have to leave
cities like Sydney,
Canberra
and Melbourne
to come across them. Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)
is one of the largest Australian parrots with a red body and blue
cheeks, wings and tail. It lives in rainforests, woodland and wet
eucalypt forests, urban parks and gardens, and during the summer even
above the snow-line in Snowy Mountains. It eats seeds, blossom, nectar,
fruits and nuts, and also insects and their larvae. Female lays 4-6
eggs between September and January, and incubates them for 20 days.
Some of the many good places to see Crimson Rosellas are Blue
Mountains National Park west of Sydney in New
South Wales, and Dandenong Ranges and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.
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Types of Parrots in Australia - Rainbow Lorikeet
Another
Australian parrot that is impossible to miss is Rainbow
Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus).
It
is one of the most beautiful of all Australian parrots, but so common
you can see it absolutely everywhere. It has got a green back, a red
belly with yellow margins and a blue face with a red beak and red eyes.
It lives in coastal rainforests, woodland and urban areas, wherever
there are flowering trees. Rainbow Lorikeets
can be nomadic because they eat mainly pollen and nectar. They live in
life-long couple bonds and female lays 2-3 eggs that hatch after 23
days. Although they are found
everywhere, some sure places to see Rainbow Lorikeets are Royal
National Park south of Sydney, Jervis Bay further south along the coast
of New South Wales, and Litchfield
National Park in Northern
Territory.
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Where to See Other Types of Parrots in Australia
There are also some rare parrots, and at least one species of night
parrot that is believed to have gone extinct. And there are some
endemic ones such as eclectus
parrot that you can only see in parts of Cape
York
peninsula. In
many zoo parks, animal
sanctuaries and some caravan parks there are daily feedings
of parrots and lorikeets where you can get very close to them. In many
places they've become half tame and land on your hand or shoulder.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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