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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Plum-headed Parakeet

Jaipur Feb 2012


The Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a parakeet endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, being a resident breeder in much of the region.

The Plum-headed Parakeet is a mainly green parrot, 33 cm long with a tail up to 22 cm. 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 orangish-yellow, and the lower mandible is dark.

The female has a grey head, corn-yellow upper-mandible 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

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