BIRDS of THE WORLD - An Online Bird Book
SEARCH 

PARROTS and Allies

The order Psittaciformes is comprised of the parrots and their allies. They are found in most warm and tropical regions. The greatest diversity of parrots is found in South America and Australasia. Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, and strong legs. Like woodpeckers, they have 2 toes pointing forward (digits 2, 3) and 2 toes pointing backward (digits 1, 4). Most parrots are predominantly green, with other bright colors. They generally exhibit little or no sexual dimorphism. The most important components of most parrots' diets are seeds, nuts, fruit, buds and other plant material. Almost all parrots nest in tree holes. Parrots are some of the most intelligent birds, and the ability of some parrot species to imitate human voices enhances their popularity as pets.

These links lead to Psittaciformes web pages.
African (Psittacidae)
Asian
(Psittaculidae)
Australasian
(Cacatuoidea): Cockatoo
Australasian
(Psittaculidae): Lorikeet, Parrots-and-Parakeet
South American (Psittacidae): Amazon, Macaw, Parrots-and-Parakeet


Asian Parrots and Parakeets

Order Psittaciformes    Family Psittaculidae


Genus Bolbopsittacus - 1 species

Guaiabero   Bolbopsittacus lunulatus  Found: Philippines
The male Guiabero has mainly green upperparts; yellowish-green underparts, rump; pale blue face, collar; blue-gray bill with dark tip. Female is similar to male but with yellow collar and lest blue face.
Image by: 1) Luis_Limchiu  2) Yann Muzika
1) Female 2) Male



Genus Loriculus
The Hanging Parrots are unique in their ability to sleep upside-down. The are usually mainly green and have a red rump. They are found in tropical southeast Asai, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea. See also Psitt_Parrot_AU.

Parrot, Blue-crowned Hanging-  Loriculus galgulus Found: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia
The Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; black bill. Male has blue crown; red rump, throat; yellow lower back.  Female lack the red, have little blue.
Image by: 1, 2) Lip Kee - Singapore 3) Lip Kee  4) Dick Daniels - North Carolina Zoo 
1) Female  2, 3, 4) Male


Parrot,_Camiguin_Hanging-  Loriculus camiguinensis  Found: Philippine island of Camiguin
The Camiguin Hanging-Parrort has mostly green plumage; blue face, throat, thighs; red crown, tail.
Image by: 1) GossipGuy  2) Desmond_Allen


Parrot, Moluccan Hanging- Loriculus amabilis  Found: Halmahera, Bacan and Morotai in Indonesia
The male Moluccan Hanging-Parrot has a red fore-crown, forehead; red patch on throat; orangish-brown lower mantle, back; red rump, upper-tail. Female has green crown, throat.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Ross Tsai
1) Male at top; female at bottom


Parrot,_Philippine_Hanging- Loriculus philippensis  Found: Philippines
The Philippine Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; red forehead; dark brown eyes; red bill. Areas of orange, yellow, and blue varying between subspecies. Only male has red on chin or upper-breast.
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) Blake_Matheson  3) Yann_Muzika


Parrot, Pygmy Hanging-  also  Green Hanging-Parrot  Loriculus exilis  Found: Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Pygmy Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; red rump; red chin spot bordered by blue; red bill. Female's red chin spot has less blue border.
Similar to: Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot. Pygmy Hanging-Parrot has red bill; Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot has black bill.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans


Parrot,_Sangihe_Hanging-  Loriculus catamene  Found: Sangihe, north of Sulawesi, Indonesia
The Sangihe Hanging-parrot has mainly green plumage;  red throat patch, rump.
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) John_Riley


Parrot, Sri Lanka Hanging-  also  Ceylon Hanging-Parrot   Loriculus beryllinusFound:  Loriculus beryllinusFound: Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot has mainly green plumage with yellow-washed nape, underparts;  red crown, rump; pale blue chin throat; red bill.
Image by: 1, 2) Haliz Issadeen - Sri Lanka


Parrot, Sula Hanging-  Loriculus sclateri  Found: Sula Islands and Banggai Islands in Indonesia
The Sula Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; red chin, throat, rump; yellow mantle; black bill.
Image by: 1) Joseph Wolf


Parrot_ Sulawesi_Hanging-  Also Maroon-rumped Hanging Parrot  Loriculus stigmatus   Found: Sulawesi and vicinity, Indonesia
The Sulawesi Hang-ing Parrot has mainly green plumage; maroon-red rump; red chin, crown; black bill. Female does not have red crown.
Similar to: Pygmy Hanging-Parrot.  Pygmy Hanging-Parrot has red bill; Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot has black bill.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemands  2) Lip Kee - Sulawesi  3) Kama_Jaya_Shagir
1) Female 2) Male


Parrot,_Vernal_Hanging-  Loriculus vernalis  Found: India, Nepal, southeast Asia
The Vernal Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; light red bill; red rump, upper-tail coverts.
Image by: 1, 2) Shrikant_Rao - India 3) viwake - India 4) Raj_Dhage


Parrot,_Wallace's Hanging-  Loriculus flosculus  Found: island of Flores (Indonesia)
The male Wallace's Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; red bill; red spot on throat; dark red nape; bright red rump, under-tail coverts. Female has red on throat absent or reduced.
Image by: 1) Craig Robson
1) Male


Parrot, Yellow-throated Hanging-  Loriculus pusillus  Found: Java and Bali of Indonesia
The Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot has mainly green plumage; yellow tinged mantle, underparts;  red rump. Male has orange-yellow mark on throat.
Image by: 1) Lip Kee - Java  2) Neville_Kemp



Genus Prioniturus
The Racquet-tail parrots are found in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Racquet-tail, Blue-crowned  Prioniturus discurus  Found: Philippines
The Blue-crowned Racquet-tail has mainly green plumage; blue crown, undertail; light colored bill; long center feathers (racquets).
Image by: 1) John Gould  2) TJ  Lin  3) Benedict_De_Laender
2) Juvenile


Racquet-tail,_Blue-headed  Prioniturus platenae  Found: western Philippines around Palawan
The Blue-heade Racquet-tail has mainly blue plumage; blusish-gray bill; yellow eyes. Male has blusish breast.
Image by: 1, 2) Rackk67


Racquet-tail, Buru  Prioniturus mada  Found: island of Buru of Indonesia
The male Baru Racquet-tail has mainly green plumage; blue crown, shoulders; dark bill with light base; yellow under-tail coverts; long center feathers (racquets). Female has less blue.
Image by: 1) Robert01  2) Quartl
1) Female  2) Male


Racquet-tail,_Golden-mantled  Prioniturus platurus  Found: Indonesia
The male Golden-mantled Racquet-tail has mainly green plumage; orange patch on mantle; blue-gray lower mantle; dull gray upper-wing coverts; dark long center feathers (racquets); dark bill with light base. Female has all green mantle.
Image by: 1) John Gould  2) Yann_Muzika - Sulawesi


Racquet-tail,_Green  Prioniturus luconensis  Found: Luzon and Marinduque of the Philippines
The male Green Racquet-tail has yellow green upperparts; paler underparts; 2 central tail feathers are elongated with bare shafts and terminated with black rackets. Females darker and less yellow with shorter rackets.
Image by: 1) Leif_Gabrielsen


Racquet-tail,_Mindanao  Prioniturus waterstradti  Found: Mindanao (Philippines)
Image by: 1) Mark_Jason_Villa  2) Nicky_Icarangal


Racquet-tail,_Mindoro  Prioniturus mindorensis  Found: Mindoro (Philippines)
Image by: 1) Sylvia_Ramos


Racquet-tail,_Montane  also Luzon Racquet-tail  Prioniturus montanus  Found: Luzan (Philippines)
Image by: 1) Biodiversity_Heritage_Library  2) Merlijn_van_Weerd - Luzan
2) Female


Racquet-tail,_Yellow-breasted  Prioniturus flavicans  Found: Indonesia
Image by: 1) John_Gould  2) Kristian_Svensson  3) Simon_van_der_Meulen



Genus Psittacula
The Afro-Asian Ringnecked parakeets are found from Africa to South-East Asia. This is the only genus of Parrot which has majority of its species in Asia.

Parakeet, Alexandrine   Psittacula eupatria  Found: Asia, Europe (introduced) 
The Alexandrien Parakeet has mainly green plumage; reddish-brown shoulder patch; red bill with yellow tips; white eye-ring. Male has black collar.
Similar to: Rose-ringed Parakeet.  Female Rose-ringed Parakeet similar to male Alexandrine Parakeet. The Alexandrine Parakeet has a bold eye-ring.
Image by: 1) Treyor Lawrie - Symbio wildlife park, Australia  2) Peter Tan - Jurong Bird Park, Singapore  3) Charles_Lam   4) Dick Daniels - Nepal
1) Female  2, 3) Male


Parakeet,_Blossom-headed  Psittacula roseata  Found: southeast Asia, India
The male Blossom-headed Parakeet has green uppperparts; pale blue head with pink front; narrow black collar; black chin stripe; lime underparts; long blue tale with light tip; yellow upper mandible; dark gray lower mandible. Female has pale bluish-gray head; lacks black on head.
1) Female  2, 3) Male
Image by: 1) Sumseet Moghe  2) Yamez A  3) LonelyShrimp - Thailand   4) Vijay_Ismavel 


Parakeet,_Derbyan  also  Lord Derby's Parakeet  Psittacula derbiana  Found: Tibet, India
The Derbyan Parakeet has green upperparts; blue crown; gray-blue underparts; black arc between eyes; black chin. Male has red upper mandible, black lower mandible; female has dark gray bill.
Image by: 1) T J Lin 2) Matthias Wicke   3) Michael_Vito  4) Richard Bach 5) Dave Young
1) Male left; female right; 2) Female 3, 4, 5) Male



Parakeet,_Gray-headed  Psittacula finschii  Found: southeast Asia
The Gray-headed Parakeet has green upperparts; yellowish-green underparts; dark gray head; gain green collar; red upper manbible, yellow lower mandible. it is found northeast India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Image by: 1, 2) LonelyShrimp  3) Vijay Ismavel
1) Pair  2) Female  3) Male


Parakeet,_Layard's  Psittacula calthropae  Found: Sri Lanka
The Layard's Parakeet has a bluish-gray head, back; green collar; black chin area; blue tail tipped with yellow
Image by: 1) Wasantha_Dissanayake  2) Haliz Issadeen 
1) Male on right feeding female


Parakeet,_Long-tailed  Psittacula longicauda  Found: Indonesia, Malaysia
The male Long-tailed Parakeet has green wings; green back with pale yellow-green mantle; light gray head; black arc between eyes; wide black moustache; light gray underparts; very long dark blue tail; red upper mandible; brown lower mandible. Female has shorter tail; dark brown bill.
Image by: 1,43) Lip Kee  2) Jainy_Kuriakose  3) Michael Khor - Singapore
1) Juvenile 2) Pair - female has dark bill 3, 4) Male


Parakeet,_Malabar  also  Blue-winged Parakeet  Psittacula columboides  Found: Southern India
The Malabar Parakeet has mainly bluish-gray plumage with yellow tipped tail; black collar' yellowish under-tail. Male has red upper mandible. Female has all black bill.
Image by: 1, 4) Lip Kee  2) Yathin S Krishnappa - India
1) Female  2, 3) Male


Parakeet,_Mauritius  also  Echo Parrot Psittacula eques  Found: Mascarene Islands in Indian Ocean
The male Mauritius has green plumage upperparts; bluish nape; yellowish underparts, under-wings; black arc between eyes ; black neck collar; red upper mandible; black lower mandible. Female has black bill, but no other black on head. On verge of extinction.
Image by: 1) Colin Houston  2) David Cook  3) Whi Mauritius  4) Peter_Steward
1, 2) Female  3, 4) Male


Parakeet,_Nicobar  Psittacula caniceps  Found: Nicobar Islands of Indian Ocean
Image by: 1) John_Gould  2) Jainy_Kuriakose  3) Sudhir_Garg
2) Female 3) Male


Parakeet, Plum-headed  Psittacula cyanocephala  Endemic to Indian Subcontinent
The male Plum-headed Parakeet has mainly yellow-green plumage; plum colored head shading to head in front; black collar; black chin stripe orange upper mandible; black lower mandible. Female has blue-gray head; lacks black collar; lacks black chin stripe; bill same as male's.
Image by:  1) J M Garg - India  2) Tarique Sari - India  3) Thomas Guignard   4) Nevit Dilmen
1, 2) Female  3, 4) Male


Parakeet, Red-breasted also Moustached Parakeet  Psittacula alexandri  Found: Asia
The Red-breasted Parakeet has green upperparts; yellow-green median wing coverts; bluish-gray head; black arc between eyes; wide black moustache; pink breast (duller in female); green belly; variable colored bill.
Image by: 1) Dave Young  2) Dick Daniels - Jungle Island of Miami  3, 4) Lip Kee - Singapore   
3) Female  4) Female left, male right


Parakeet, Rose-ringed also Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri Found: Asia, Africa  Introduced: The Americas, Europe
The Rose-ringed Parakeet has mainly green plumage with some yellow tinge depending on subspecies; bill color is subspecies dependent. Male has bluish nape; dark thin collar; female has not collar.
Similar to: Alexandrine Parakeet. Female Rose-ringed Parakeet similar to male Alexandrine Parakeet. The Alexandrine Parakeet has a bold eye-ring.
Image by: 1, 2) J M Garg - India  4, 6) Sandy Cole - Birds of Eden, South Africa  3, 5) Dick Daniels - Birds of Eden
1) Male on left, female on right  2) Female  3, 4, 5) Male  3, 4, 5, 6) Indian Ringneck Parkakeet (P. krameri manillensis)



Parakeet, Slaty-headed  Psittacula himalayana  Found: mountains of Asia in summer, lower in winter
The Slaty-headed Parakeet has dark green upperparts; lighter neck, underparts; dark gray head; black chin; red upper mandible; pale yellow lower mandible. Male has long blue-and-yellow tail with green base; female has shorter tail.
Image by: 1) JM Garg - India  2) Rahul_Sharma



Genus Psittinus - 1 species

Parrot, Blue-rumped  Psittinus cyanurus  Found: Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra
The Blue-rumped Parrot has mainly green plumage; red under-wing coverts; reddish shoulder patch. Male has blue head, rump; black mantle; red upper mandible. Female has gray-brown head.
Image by: 1, 2) Bernard Dupont - Kuala Lumpur Bird Park
1, 2) Male



Genus Tanygnathus

Parrot,_Azure-rumped  also  Blue-backed Parrot  Tanygnathus sumatranus  Found: Indonesia, Phillipines
The Azure-rumped Parrot has green upperparts with varyious amounts of blue depending on subspecies; yellow-green underparts; red (male) or white (female) bill.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) TJ_Lin  3) Chris  4) Mohit_Kumar_Ghatak
2) Female 3, 4) Male


Parrot, Blue-naped  Tanygnathus lucionensis   Found: Philippines, Borneo
The Blue-naped Parrot has mainly green plumage; blue crown that may extend slightly to nape; darker wings with some scalloping; red bill.
Image by: 1)Mark A Harper - Luzon  2) Blake Matheson - Philippines  3) Quartl
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Parrot,_Great-billed  Tanygnathus megalorynchos  Found: Indonesia
The Great-billed Parrot has mainly green plumage; large red bill; blackish shoulders; olive-green back; pale blue rump; yellowish-green underparts.
Image by: 1) Jacques Barraband  2) Yann_Muzika   3) TJ Lin  4) Neville_Kemp




Back to Top