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Post by biteybird on Jan 4, 2016 2:27:43 GMT -5
About 2-3 months ago my hubby brought home a pair of plum-headed parrots, who are living in one of our outdoor aviaries. The female is the one with the grey/silver head. I think they're gorgeous!
The male loves to eat red chillies (I think the red mark on his beak is from that). 
About 6 weeks ago four baby plum-headed parrots hatched and are now flying around in our aviary...this was unexpected, as the shop owner told my husband that this couple was only young (so we didn't expect them to breed so soon).
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 4, 2016 2:52:18 GMT -5
They are really nice looking parrots. Ah yes, the hatching surprise. Spike had her 2nd birthday on 26 December - I still call her my Christmas surprise.
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Post by easttex on Jan 4, 2016 6:50:24 GMT -5
They are beautiful birds. What interesting parrots you have in Australia!
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Post by julianna on Jan 4, 2016 14:15:25 GMT -5
Wow... those are awesome. Boy I would love to have an outdoor aviary. Thanks for sharing these photos. Are these aprox. the same size as Quakers? Do they talk? Can you handle them? Just beautiful.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 4, 2016 19:04:07 GMT -5
I don't think they are native to Australia - they are Asiatic though and I believe they are part of the Ringneck family. To me their body length looks almost the same as a quaker but they do not seem quite as thick/fat in the body. This could be an optical illusion though, as their tails are a lot longer and more slender (apparently their tails continue to grow very long as they get older, much the same length as the tail on a Princess parrot).
I was going to say that they don't talk, but I just saw a YouTube video of one talking! I suppose if one were to have them as an inside bird to train, then it would be entirely possible. They make lots of interesting noises, particularly early morning and at dusk - Bonnie is often in 'bed' by the time they are at their noisiest, then starts copying their noises when she should be sleeping(!). I haven't tried to handle them, as they are in the outdoor aviary mixed in with the other birds (canaries, cockatiels, Bourke's parrots), but they seem very calm birds. We haven't had them very long and they started breeding virtually straight after we got them.
Edit: Here's the YouTube link: It sounds like a foreign language to me. The really interesting thing is watching the ring in the bird's eye dilate (this is apparently meant to be a sign of excitement in this species). |
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Post by aaron on Jan 4, 2016 19:24:41 GMT -5
Wow, those guys are quite beautiful! I've never seen one of those before!
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Post by wsteinhoff on Jan 5, 2016 13:10:50 GMT -5
I've actually never heard of a plum-headed parrot until now. They're beautiful birds.
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Post by cnyguy on Jan 5, 2016 21:00:11 GMT -5
They are certainly colorful and attractive parrots. Plum-headed parrots are native to Sri Lanka, India, parts of Pakistan and are also found in a few other places in that part of the world. I've only seen one in a pet store around here once, so they're not too common.
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Post by Angela on Jan 20, 2016 6:48:21 GMT -5
They look beautiful!
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Post by easttex on Jan 20, 2016 15:14:22 GMT -5
Suddenly, they're everywhere! Well, there is one featured on the latest Drs. Foster and Smith pet bird catalog. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jan 20, 2016 20:20:32 GMT -5
They are very beautiful! I guess they felt very comfortable in your aviary to start breeding right away.
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Post by rickygonzalez on Jan 20, 2016 23:28:41 GMT -5
They are awesome!!!!! Lucky you, congratulations!!!!!
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