Green Rosella
Yellow -bellied parrot that eats a flower
The Yellow -bellied parrot ( platycercus caledonicus ) is the largest species of flatfish tail parakeets. Yellow-bellied Parakeets occur naturally only in Tasmania, as well as a large number of coastal islands. They are found in the Bass Strait, among others, on King Iceland, Iceland Deal and Dover Iceland.
The Yellow -bellied parrot was first described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. The specific epithet is derived from the mistaken belief that the Vogelbalg described was collected on New Caledonia.
Appearance
Yellow-bellied Parakeets reach a body length of up to 37 centimeters and weigh 109-142 grams.
The male of the Yellow -bellied parrot has a strong dark yellow head and neck. The ear-coverts are slightly greenish and the back neck is mottled black and green. Remarkable are the striking violet-blue cheek patches. The front and back of the shield feathers are black with a very narrow greenish rim. The rear back is greenish yellow. The bend of wing and the outer middle wing-coverts and the outer coverts are blue -violet. The primary coverts, the primaries and secondaries are the black brown. The outer webs of the feathers have a blue-violet towards base hem. Also, the under wing-coverts are blue -violet. The body underside is bright yellow. The beak is horn colored greyish. The iris is dark brown.
The females are similar to males, but their plumage has an orange- red tone on. They also have a slightly smaller body and a smaller beak. What is striking is the significantly narrower upper beak.
Yellow-bellied Parakeets are powerful fliers. In flight change fast wing beats with short gliding phases from. Also the longer distance like overcome close to the ground. It is characterized by an upward movement for them when they land on a branch. They fan the tail and slide back without wing beats to Zielast.
Habitat
Apart from the high moors and treeless farmland colonize on yellow-bellied Parakeets Tasmania and the adjacent islands all habitats. This includes savannas and rainforests, heath shrubland, grassland with loose trees, orchards, parks and gardens. There are basically site- faithful birds.
Food
Yellow-bellied parrots are predominantly herbivores. Take preferably the seeds of grasses, shrubs and trees to him. Play a special role in the seeds of eucalyptus trees. They also eat berries, fruits, flowers, buds and nectar, and to a lesser extent insects and their larvae. They fall also in orchards and eat the fruits cultivated there. Therefore, they can do some damage there.
Reproduction
Yellow-bellied parrots are cavity nesters. The propagation time of the Yellow-bellied parakeet is the period from October to January. The courtship and breeding behavior has a high similarity to that of Pennant parakeet. It is a year raised only a scrim. The nest consists of four to five white and slightly glossy eggs. They measure 30 x 24 millimeters. Young birds leave the nest cavity at an age of about five weeks. They form a family group for four to five weeks with the adult parent birds. Then they join other young birds of their kind and form swarms with them, showing a stronger migratory behavior than that of the adult birds.