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Layard's Parakeet
Conservation statusLeast Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Psittacula
Species: P. calthropae
Binomial name
Psittacula calthropae
Blyth, 1849
The Layard's Parakeet (Psittacula calthropae) is a parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet.
Layard's Parakeet is a bird of forests, particularly at the edges and in clearings, and also gardens. It is locally common. It nests in holes in large trees, laying 3-4 white eggs.
This is a green parrot, 29 cm long with a tail up to 13cm. The adult has a bluish-grey head and back, separated by a green collar. There is a broad black chin stripe and the tail is blue tipped yellow. The upper mandible of the male's bill is red, and the lower mandible is brown.
The female is similar, but has a black upper mandible. Immature birds are mainly green, with a dark red bill.
Layard's Parakeet is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season, when it often feeds with Brahminy Starlings. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering.
The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard.
References
* BirdLife International (2004). Psittacula calthropae. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
