Golden-shouldered or Hooded Parrots aka
Golden-tinged Parakeets, Chestnut-crowned Parakeets,
Antbed Parrots
Psephotus
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The Golden-shouldered Parrot, Psephotus chrysopterygius, is a rare bird of southern Cape York, Australia. A small attractive parrot related to the more common Red-rumped Parrot, it is considered to be a superspecies with the Hooded Parrot of the Northern Territory and the apparently extinct Paradise Parrot of Queensland and New South Wales.
Description:
It measures 26 cm (10 ins) long and weighs between 54-56 g.
Forehead and lores lemon-yellow, becoming yellowish-green-blue on upper cheeks; lower cheeks, throat, breast, sides of body, rump and upper tail-coverts turquoise; crown and nape black; hindneck brownish-black with blue edging; chin with greyish tinge; back, lower back and lesser wing-coverts greyish-brown; abdomen, under tail-coverts and thighs orange-red with white base and edging; bend of wing, primary-coverts, outer webs of primaries, outermost secondaries and under wing-coverts blue; inner secondaries greyish-brown with blue tinge to outer webs; median wing-coverts yellow; middle tail-feathers upperside bronze-green with blue-black tips; outer tail-feathers greenish-blue with whitish-blue tips; tail underside white-bluish; bill grey-horn colour;narrow periophthalmic ring grey; iris brown; feet greyish-brown.
Female dull green with faint bronze tinge; forehead and lores dull whitish-yellow; chin and cheeks with light grey tinge; lower breast and upper sides to body tinged turquoise; rump and upper tail-coverts dull turquoise; lower sides to body, abdomen and under tail-coverts whitish and washed greyish-blue; centre of abdomen with reddish tinge; bend of wing,under wing-coverts, primary-coverts, outer webs of primaries and outermost secondaries pale blue; light stripe to underside of wings.
Immatures as female; young males however with turquoise cheeks, deeper brown tinge to crown and nape; abdomen with deeper rose-pink tinge; under-wing stripe present; bill more yellowish; adult plumage attained by 16 months
Habitat / Breeding:
The Golden-shouldered Parrot lives in open forest, where it feeds on small grass seeds, principally those of firegrass. An important habitat requirement is the provision of terrestrial termite mounds, which the bird uses for nesting in. This has lead to the parrot also being known as the Antbed Parrot. They will preferentially seek out taller mounds (up to 2 m high), and will dig a burrow into them when the mound has been softened by the rains. A long tunnel is dug down into the mound, and capped off by a nesting chamber. The clutch size is between 3-6 eggs, which are incubated for 20 days. The mound regulates the temperature in the chamber, keeping it high enough that the eggs can be left unattended while the parents feed.
Status in the Wild:
The Golden-shouldered Parrot is listed as endangered (CITES I). The species has a restricted range and suffers from a variety of threats, including predation by feral cats, tourist disturbance, and a change in burning regime in the grasslands upon whose seeds it depends. The wild population is around 3000 birds, with around 1500 held in captivity in Australia. Source: Wikipedia.org
Names:
Genus: Scientific: Psephotus ... English: Red-backed Parakeets ... Dutch: Roodrugparkieten ... German: Singsittiche ... French: Perruche chantant 
Species: Scientific: Psephotus chrysopterygius ... English: Golden-shouldered Parrot, Antbed Parrot ... Dutch: Geelschouderparkiet, Goudschouderparkiet ... German: Goldschultersittich ... French: Perruche aux ailes d'or
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