From Opus

Alternative name: Princess Parrot

Polytelis alexandrae

[edit] Identification

34 to 46 cms long
The plumage is mostly green with a pink throat, bluish crown and rump and bright green shoulders. The tail is long and narrow. Their wings have bright green bands on them. They have multi-colored faces with pastel-blue washed foreheads and pink cheeks. Their necks and upper-chests are also rose coloured. The males have longer tail feathers and brighter colouring than females. The male also has a coral-red beak, while the female's is wine-coloured. The male has an orange iris, while the female's is much browner.

[edit] Distribution

Dry eucalyptus forests of interior central and western Australia. The best bets lately seems to have been in Western Australia, but with only small numbers seen.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

It inhabits arid woodland and scrub with spinifex, eucalypts, acacias, etc.

[edit] Behaviour

Nomadic.

[edit] Breeding

Four to six rounded white eggs are laid in a hollow in a eucalypt or desert oak.

[edit] Diet

They feed on the seeds of grasses and shrubs.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. NationMaster
3. Link to a recent report of visible Princess Parrots.

[edit] External Links