Rock Parrot
Also known as:
Rock Grass-Parakeet, Rock Elegant Parakeet
Also known as:
Rock Grass-Parakeet, Rock Elegant Parakeet
DID YOU KNOW?
Rock Parrots in South Australia rarely travel inland more than a kilometre or two from coastal scrub areas.
Size:
22 cm (8.6 in)
Weight:
44-67 g (1.5-2.3 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Both adults brown/olive crown and upperparts; wide dark blue frontal band, edged with pale blue above and below; face dull blue; breast dull olive; abdomen olive/yellow, sometimes suffused with orange in centre; bright yellow undertail coverts and undertail; bend of wing and outside lesser and secondary wing coverts soft purple/blue; pale blue middle secondary and lesser wing coverts; light underwing band. Beak dark grey. Eye dark brown.
Colour Juvenile:
As in adults but duller with front band or blue on face absent; pale underwing band present. Beak yellow/brown.
Call:
Call is said to be plaintive while in flight, with notes repeated frequently. While feeding, gives occasional tittering notes.
More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1977. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Captive Status:
Somewhat common in Australia, not so elsewhere.
Longevity:
About 12 yrs.
Housing:
Walk-in aviary, minimum length 3 m (9.8 ft). Prefers plants.
Diet:
Seed mix such as: canary, oats, safflower, niger, limited sunflower; spray millet; lots of green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green peas in the pod and beans, zucchini; complete kibble.
Enrichment:
Planted aviary with many bird safe wood and leaf types, planted seeding grasses where possible, areas for bathing.
Nest Box Size:
12 x 12 x 25 cm box (5″ x 5″ x 10″).
Clutch Size:
4 or 5
Fledging Age:
4.5 weeks
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
Unknown but described as generally common, decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Not globally threatened. Generally common, however, there is evidence of a population decline due to predation by invasive species such as rats, foxes, lizards and cats.
Range:
Coastal SW and S mainland Australia, including islands offshore.
Habitat:
Stays at or near sea level; breeds on small rocky offshore islets where their nests are relatively safe from predation. Also can be found in scrubby areas near the coast, in coastal grasslands, along estuaries, in mangroves and in sandy areas near the shore.
Wild Diet:
Diet includes seeds and fruits of grasses, shrubs and halophytic (salt-loving) plants including Carpobrotus aequilaterus and C. crystallinum, also Lepidium foliosum, Correa reflexa, Atriplex, Rhagodia, Arthrocnemum arbuscula and non-native Arctotheca nivea; have been known to take spilt wheat.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Large groups gather on the ground at abundant food sources; easily startled.
Clutch and Egg Size:
4 or 5 elliptical eggs, 24.0 x 19.5 mm (0.9 x 0.7 in).
Breeding Season:
August-December, sometimes February. Nest is in crevice between seashore boulders or cliffs, and rarely in old seabird burrows. Also nests in dwarfed dense shrubbery on coastal islands.
Related Links:
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