May 31

Bird of the day

Layard's parakeet

Psittacula calthrapae

Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, (Psittacula calthrapae) is a parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard; his first wife, Barbara Anne Calthrop, whom he married in 1845, is commemorated in the specific epithet.

Layard's parakeet is a green parrot, 29 cm (11 in) long including a tail up to 13 cm (5.1 in). The adult has a bluish-grey head and back, separated by a green collar. There is a broad black chin stripe and the tail is blue tipped yellow. The upper mandible of the male's bill is red and the lower mandible is brown.

The female is similar, but has an all black beak and less green on the face than the male. Immature birds are mainly green, with an orange bill.

Aliases

Psittacula calthropae, Emerald-collared parakeet, Psittacula calthrapae