14-4-2024 KHAJURAHO, INDIA - PLUM HEADED PARAKEET (Psittacula cyanocephala)

The Plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) is a colorful parrot that was once thought to be conspecific with the Bossom-headed parakeet. Plum-headed parakeets spend their time in flocks and fly swiftly with twists and turns accompanied by their distinctive calls.

The Plum-headed parakeet is a mainly green parrot. 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. The female has a dull bluish-grey head and lacks the black and verdigris collar, which is replaced by yellow. The upper mandible is corn-yellow and there is no black chin stripe or red shoulder patch. Immature birds have a green head and both mandibles are yellowish. The dark head is acquired after a year. The delicate bluish-red appearance resembling the bloom of a peach is produced by a combination of blue from the optical effects produced by the rami of the feather and a red pigment in the barbules.