Shot taken from my window door one early winter morning.Scientific classificationKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: AvesOrder: PsittaciformesFamily: PsittacidaeGenus: PlatycercusSpecies: P. elegansGmelin, 1788
The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is unusual in the parrot family for its extreme sexual dimorphism of the colours of the plumage; the male having a mostly bright green plumage and the female a mostly bright red and purple/blue plumage. Joseph Forshaw, in his book Parrots of the World, noted that the first European ornithologists to see Eclectus Parrots thought they were of two distinct species. Large populations of this parrot remain, and they are sometimes considered pests for eating fruit off trees. Some populations restricted to relatively small islands are comparably rare. Their bright feathers are also used by native tribes people as decorations.
Kilcowera Station, via Thargomindah, Queensland, Australia. Male above, female below.One of the big winners after flooding rains are Budgerigars - they breed up like you wouldn't believe! Every small hollow you look in has egg shells in them from Budgies - they take no time at all to leave the nest, and form the most beautiful flocks of 100's or 1000's that flow and glide back and forth like a shoal of tropical fish. Great to watch! The male (above) has a blue cere and the female (below) has a brownish cere, especially when breeding.