While both male and female are mainly green, the male is distinguished by its red head which shades to purple-blue on the back of the crown, nape, and cheeks and has a distinctive thin black neck collar while the female has a blueish-grey head and is yellow around the neck.
Plum-headed parakeets occur naturally in the foothills of the Himalayas, extending south to Sri Lanka where they gather and move about in flocks inhabiting forest and open woodlands.
At the Botanic Garden, we have one elderly pair in the collection. Despite their age, they continue to nest and every breeding season the female has produced two infertile eggs that she lovingly incubates for about 28 days before abandoning the nest.
Our birds are spending their golden years soaking up the sun in their north-facing aviary, preening each other while having the odd duet. It is rare not to see them together, often sleeping. They are very sweet and are an endearing species to work with.
These parakeets are now very hard to find in New Zealand likely due to the small numbers brought into the country before importing of birds was stopped in the 1990s, a move to protect our own endemic bird species.
Although the numbers of plum-headed parakeets are gradually dwindling due to habitat loss, they still thrive and due to their large range - this species is under no immediate threat.
Garden Life is produced by Dunedin Botanic Garden. For further information contact Alisha Sherriff.
