Bird Guide

Blue-winged Parakeet vs Plum-headed Parakeet

Blue-winged Parakeet (Psittacula columboides)

Blue-winged Parakeet

Psittacula columboides

Medium87 gForest

The blue-winged parakeet is bluish grey with a long yellow-tipped tail. The black neck ring is complete in both males and females. The male has a bluish-green lower edge to the black collar and the upper mandible is red with a white tip while the female has an all black bill and has only the black collar. The female looks similar to the female of the plum-headed parakeet which however can be told apart by its broad yellow collar. Flocks move through the forest while calling out in a series of screeching keek-keek-keek calls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Blue-winged Parakeet
Recorded by Jairam Vijayan · Song · Payyavoor, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Haneesh K M. · CC0
Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala)

Plum-headed Parakeet

Psittacula cyanocephala

Medium66 gForest

The plum-headed parakeet is a mainly green parrot, 33–37 cm (13–15 in) long with a weight of 55–85 g (1.9–3.0 oz). Its tail has a length of up to 22 cm (8.7 in). The male has a red head which shades to purple-blue on the back of the crown, nape and cheeks, while the female has a blueish-gray head. There is a narrow black neck collar with verdigris below on the nape and a black chin stripe that extends from the lower mandible. There is a red shoulder patch and the rump and tail are bluish-green, the latter tipped white. The upper mandible is orangish-yellow, and the lower mandible is dark.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Hari K Patibanda · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-winged Parakeet and Plum-headed Parakeet.