May 22

Bird of the day

Blossom-headed parakeet

Psittacula roseata

The Blossom-headed parakeet (Psittacula roseata or Himalayapsitta roseata) is a parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It has a lime green body and a pink or bluish grey-head and is found in Southeast Asia. This species is sometimes also referred to as rosy-headed parakeet.

P. roseata is a lime-green parrot, 30 cm (12 in) long with a tail up to 18 cm (7.1 in). It weighs on average 2.9-3.1 oz (85-90 g).

The male's head, cheeks, and ears are pink becoming pale blue towards the back of the crown and nape. There is a narrow black neck collar and a black chin stripe. There is a reddish brown shoulder spot on the inner middle wing coverts. Long, central tail feathers are blue and tipped with pale yellow. Side tail feathers are yellow green and tipped with pale yellow. The upper mandible is orange yellow, and the lower mandible is a dark grey. Eyes are pale yellow.

The female P. roseata differs with a pale blue grey head and the black neck collar is instead yellow green. The red shoulder spot is smaller among females, the upper mandible is yellow, and the lower bill is a dark grey.

P. r. juneae, a subspecies, is similar in description to P. r. roseata, except it has a more yellowish plumage and the red wing patch is larger. The central tail feathers are paler in colour and the side tail feathers are yellower.

Immature and juvenile birds have a green head and a grey chin. Both mandibles are yellowish and there is no red shoulder patch. Juvenile birds have grey eyes.

The different head colour and the yellow tip to the tail distinguish this species from the similar plum-headed parakeet (H. cyanocephala).

Aliases

Psittacula roseata