Plum-headed Parakeet

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family	Psittacidae
Genus:	*Psittacula*
Species:	*cyanocephala*

Binomial name

Psittacula cyanocephala
Linnaeus, 1766

The Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a parrot which is a resident breeder in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit and blosssoms which make up its diet,

Plum-headed Parakeet is a bird of forest and open woodland. It nests in holes in trees, laying 4-6 white eggs.

This is a green parrot, 33 cm long with a tail up to 22cm. The male's head is red, becoming purple-blue on the back of the crown, nape and cheeks. There is a narrow black neck collar and a black chin stripe.

There is a red shoulder patch and the rump and tail are bluish-green, the latter tipped white. The upper mandible is yellow, and the lower mandible is dark.

The female has a grey head and lacks the black neck collar, chin stripe and red shoulder patch. Immature birds have a green head and both mandibles are yellowish.

The different head colour and the white tip to the tail distinguish this species from the similar Blossom-headed Parakeet (Psittacula roseata)

Plum-headed Parakeet is a gregarious and noisy species with range of raucous calls.

Reference

Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6