Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Tara

The Green Rosella or Tasmanian Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) is endemic to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands. At 37 cm (14.5 in) long it is the largest species of the rosella genus, Platycercus. Its diet is composed of seeds, fruit, berries and flowers, as well as insects and insect larvae.

Green Rosellas are endemic to Tasmania and are commonly seen throught the island. I saw them best on Bruny Island and Freycinet National Park.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREEN ROSELLAS

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife

VIDEO

Mike Grant has some nice close up footage on YouTube.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus)

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Tara

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm (22–26 in) in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band. The body feathers are edged with yellow giving a scalloped appearance.

These photos were taken near the Cheese Shop on Bruny Island.

Here’s a couple pics taken near Stanthorpe, Queensland.

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo is found in forested regions from south and central eastern Queensland to southeastern South Australia and on Tasmania. I have seen them near the afore-mentioned Cheese Shop on Bruny Island, near Hobart, near Girraween in South-East Queensland and on the road to Lamington National Park. They can also be seen in the outer suburbs of Brisbane near Mt Glorius.

LEARN MORE ABOUT YELLOW-TAILED BLACK COCKATOOS

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife

VIDEO

Nice close-ups of a YTBC eating.

Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tara

The Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet. It is the only member in the genus Lathamus. The Swift Parrot is endangered with only about 1000 pairs remaining in the wild, and its population is declining. They do live up to their name and were too swift for me to get a good shot on Bruny Island so I have to use the Wikipedia photo.

Here are my feeble attempts.

Swift Parrots have a large range during the non-breeding season as they migrate to the south and east coast of mainland Australia. Many lucky Tasmanians have Swift Parrots coming into their backyards. It is much easier to see them on Bruny Island in Tasmania where they breed and are easier to find. Captain Cook Caravan Park in Adventure Bay has Swifties coming into the trees on their grounds. Look for them on flowering gum trees.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SWIFT PARROTS

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife

VIDEO

Here’s an excellent mini-doco from NSW National Parks.

Eastern Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Tara

The Eastern Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) of Australia is one of only three ground-dwelling parrots in Australia, the others being its closest relatives, the Western Ground Parrot (Pezoporus flaviventris) and the extremely rare Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis).

Eastern Ground Parrot photo from Wikipedia

I took these photos in Strahan and Melaleuca. I wasn’t fast enough to get a clear shot.

You will usually have to flush a Ground Parrot to see it. This means walking carefully through the bush where they are known to live and watching for them. When disturbed, a ground parrot flies swiftly just above the ground before dropping back into the vegetation. The presence of the bird is often only revealed by its characteristic dusk and dawn call, a clear whistling sequence of notes which rise in pitch before fading. It is silent in flight. Please do not harass a Ground Parrot. Once you flush one, get your camera ready, walk slowly towards where he landed and he will flush again. Get your photo, then leave the bird alone.

The Ground Parrot is found in scattered populations along the east coast of Australia, from south-east coastal Queensland and in pockets in north-east and southern New South Wales, through to coastal areas of Gippsland in Victoria and the islands of the Bass Strait to its stronghold in Tasmania. The most reliable place to see them is in Strahan either near the old airport or near the Wilderness Lodge.

Blue dots are Strahan & Melaleuca – best places to see Eastern Ground Parrots

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN GROUND PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife

NSW Environment

Biodiversity Australia

VIDEOS

Unfortunately there aren’t any videos of Eastern Ground Parrots on YouTube where I can embed them here. There are a few short clips filmed at Strahan on IBC but you need to view them over there.

Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna)

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Tara

The Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna) is a lorikeet, one of the three species of the Glossopsitta genus. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The musk lorikeet was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Psittacus concinnus, from a collection in the vicinity of Port Jackson in what is now Sydney.

All the photos in this post were taken by me in Melbourne.

Musk lorikeets are found in eastern New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. I have personally seen them at Woodlands Historic Park near the Melbourne International Airport, near Cambridge Airport in Hobart and several places in South-east Queensland. Airline miles can get you to any of these places in Australia. They are easily recognized by the red-streak across their face covering their eyes. I called it “war paint”!

LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSK LORIKEETS

VIDEO

Mike Grant has some nice footage of Musk Lorikeets on YouTube.

Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala)

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Tara

The Purple-crowned Lorikeet, (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala) is a very small lorikeet, approx. 16 cm in length, with a purple crown, orange forehead and ear-coverts, green upper parts are bright green and a pale blue belly. There is a small patch of bright blue at the bend of wing, with underwing coverts bright red, and obvious in flight. They are easier to hear than see, often calling in flight. The call is a high-pitched ‘tzeet, tzeet’.

The Purple-crowned Lorikeet is found in southwest Western Australia, and in southern South Australia, east from the southern Eyre Peninsula, through the Gawler Range and southern Flinders Ranges and across Victoria to East Gippsland. It is also found on Kangaroo Island. I was lucky enough to come across a flock at Jerramungup while enroute to Ravensthorpe.

Approximate location of Jerramungup within the Purple-crowned Lorikeet range.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PURPLE-CROWNED LORIKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

NSW Environment & Heritage

Birds in Backyards

VIDEO

Getting ready for his close-up!

Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans)

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Tara

The Elegant Parrot was originally named by the renowned ornithologist and artist John Gould in 1837, its specific name Latin for “elegant”. It is one of six species of grass parrot in the genus Neophema, and within it a member of the subgenus Neonanodes. Its common name is Elegant Parrot, but has also been called Elegant Parakeet, Elegant Grass Parakeet, and Grass Parrot in the past.

It can be difficult to tell the Neophema species apart in areas where they overlap. Elegant Parrots overlap with Rock Parrots in Western Australia. In South Australia and Victoria, they overlap with Blue-winged Parrots and Orange-bellied Parrots. To see the physical characteristics of each, see this leaflet.

Here’s some more photos I took in Stirling Range National Park which is one of the easiest places to see Elegant Parrots.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ELEGANT PARROTS

VIDEO

Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus)

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Tara

The Regent Parrot is one of three species in the genus Polytelis. The parrot is also known variously as the Rock Pebbler, Rock Peplar, Black-tailed Parakeet, Murray Smoker’, Marlock Parakeet and sometimes Regent Parakeet.

Two subspecies are recognised. While the western subspecies (Polytelis anthopeplus anthopeplus) is listed as “lower risk” or “least concern”, the eastern subspecies (Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides) is listed as endangered.

Regent Parrots are easily seen in Dryandra Woodland & Stirling Range National Park, both of which are an easy drive from Perth, Australia. It was pure magic to watch them bathing in the bird bath at Stirling Range Retreat!

Range:
P.a. anthopeplus: Inland SE Australia, near middle of Murray and lower Darling Rivers and corresponding tributaries in far SE New South Wales and NW Victoria to nearby E South Australia.
P.a. westralis: SW Australia, north to Lake Moore district and east to eastern Goldfields, Balladonia district, and Israelite Bay.

LEARN MORE ABOUT REGENT PARROTS

Environment South Australia

Biodiversity Australia

VIDEO

Beautiful close ups from YouTube!

The Birds Of Stirling Range – Pictorial

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Tara

I’ve already blogged about the Stirling Range National Park but it got too long so I saved the bird photos for this post. Just as a reminder, here are the bird lists that have been recorded here:

Frank O’Connor

Eremaea

Birdlife (has pictures)

Since we have the long Easter weekend coming up, over the next 4 days, I will get caught up on some bird profiles and then move on to the next stop which was Two People’s Bay. So for now, just enjoy some of these beautiful birds!

Regent Parrot

Galah

Elegant Parrot

Dusky Wood Swallows (I think)

Owlet Nightjar

Honey-eater

Elegant Parrot

Singing Honey-eater

Elegant Parrot

Splendid Fairy-wren

Elegant Parrot

Australian Ringneck

Regent Parrots

Western Rosella

Elegant Parrot

Elegant Parrot

Elegant Parrot

Australian Owlet Nightjar

Western Corella (Cacatua pastinator)

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Tara

The Western Corella (Cacatua pastinator) formerly known as the Western Long-billed Corella, is a species of white cockatoo endemic to south-western Western Australia.

Although this looks like a small range, once you are in the area, they are easily spotted. Most local birders will tell you to go to Lake Muir and after leaving Narrogin, that was where we were headed. We didn’t have to go that far as we spotted a huge flock near Frankland River. The nice thing about watching any Cockatoo species is that they are good at making their presence known! See the yellow highlighted map below for the best places to look for Western Corellas in relation to Albany and Stirling Range. At this point you are around 4 hours drive from Perth and using your miles to get to Australia.

These birds were not shy and let us approach fairly close for good photos! There were probably around 80 in the entire flock.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WESTERN CORELLAS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Biodiversity Australia

VIDEO

“Mixed Marriage”

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Tag Archives: Australian parrots

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus)

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREEN ROSELLAS

VIDEO

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus)

LEARN MORE ABOUT YELLOW-TAILED BLACK COCKATOOS

VIDEO

Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor)

LEARN MORE ABOUT SWIFT PARROTS

VIDEO

Eastern Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus)

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN GROUND PARROTS

VIDEOS

Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna)

LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSK LORIKEETS

VIDEO

Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala)

LEARN MORE ABOUT PURPLE-CROWNED LORIKEETS

VIDEO

Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans)

LEARN MORE ABOUT ELEGANT PARROTS

VIDEO

Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus)

LEARN MORE ABOUT REGENT PARROTS

VIDEO

The Birds Of Stirling Range – Pictorial

Western Corella (Cacatua pastinator)

LEARN MORE ABOUT WESTERN CORELLAS

VIDEO