Australian King-Parrot
Alisterus scapularis
Family: Psittacidae (Parrots, 40 species in Australia)
Size: 42 cm
Distribution: Within about 300 km of the coast of NSW and most of VIC and Southern QLD
Status: Common
Habitat: Moist, tall forests, and adjacent farmlands. Orchards, parks and gardens in autumn and winter
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Australian King-Parrot is a fairly common bird in some parts of the Blue Mountains, but not seen nearly as often as the Crimson Rosella. They are larger than rosellas and the sexes are obviously different.
The male (pictured below) has a red head while the female has a green head and does not have the "fluoro" bright green stripe on the side like the male does.
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1750 x 2735)
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (2000 x 2967)
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1899 x 1488)
Some Birdwatching Resources
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Photographic Field Guide Birds of Australia: Second Edition, Jim Flegg. This field guide to Australian birds is different to most in that it has photographs of each bird, rather than drawings or paintings. If you would prefer to see actual photographs of the birds, this is your guide. Most people prefer a field guide with drawings though, since the drawings are specially done to look like a generic representation of the bird, and also to point out details that can be used to tell one species from another very similar species. Photographs, especially of the more rare birds, do not always show the birds looking like they will when you see them in the wild. However, sometimes it is nice to see a real photo rather than a drawing.
Click here to purchase from Australia $30.99 AUD |
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Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Nicolas Day, Ken Simpson, Peter Trusler. I think this is the best bird field guide for Australia. It is known to birdwatchers as "Simpson and Day". I also like the pictures in this one the best out
of all the major field guides. The information is still very highly regarded compared to most of the other guides. Many serious birdwatchers think "Pizzey
and Knight" is
the best though. I bought this one since I liked the pictures so
much I figured (correctly) that I would spend more time looking through it. I feel that I made the right choice since I love the pictures in this one so much. I have the 6th edition, the current one is the 8th.
Click here to purchase from Australia $45.49 AUD |
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