Lord Derby's Parakeet
Psittacula derbiana
The Lord Derby's Parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) is a legendary old world parrot found only in China, weighing about 251 g. Lord Derby's parakeet, also known as Derbyan parakeet, is a parrot species, which is confined to a small pocket of moist evergreen forest in the hills and mountains of the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and adjoining parts of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan in China.
About the Lord Derby's Parakeet
Lord Derby's parakeet, also known as Derbyan parakeet, is a parrot species, which is confined to a small pocket of moist evergreen forest in the hills and mountains of the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and adjoining parts of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan in China. The species suffers from cutting of old trees and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. In 2011, its status was updated from least concern to near threatened on the IUCN Red List. The adult male and female are easily distinguished because they have different beak colours and slightly different plumage.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Lord Derby's parakeets are 45–50 cm (18–20 in) in length and are sexually dimorphic. They have a mostly green plumage over their dorsal surface (i.e. from behind), black lores and lower cheeks, a bluish-purple crown and pale yellow eyes. The throat, breast, abdomen and under-wing coverts are greyish blue to lavender. The thighs and vent area are yellowish green with blue edging on some of the feathers. The tail feathers are shades of green, some edged with blue. Male birds have a red upper mandible with a yellow tip, while the lower mandible is black. The females have an all-black beak.
When to see it
Best months: April, June, July, August, October, with peak activity in June. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Lord Derby's Parakeet?
- Lord Derby's parakeets are 45–50 cm (18–20 in) in length and are sexually dimorphic. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Lord Derby's Parakeet?
- The Lord Derby's Parakeet is a medium sized bird weighing about 251 g.
- Where can you see a Lord Derby's Parakeet?
- The Lord Derby's Parakeet is endemic to China, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Lord Derby's Parakeet?
- The Lord Derby's Parakeet is most easily confused with the Nicobar Parakeet, the Echo Parakeet and the Grey-headed Parakeet.
- Is the Lord Derby's Parakeet endangered?
- The Lord Derby's Parakeet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Lord Derby's Parakeet for real
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