From Opus

Alternative name: Alexandra's 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. Also found in stands of Desert Oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana) with understorey of spinifex in north-western South Australia as recent as May, 2010.

[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.
2. NationMaster
3. Link to a recent report of visible Princess Parrots.

[edit] External Links