Pintailed Parrot Finch
There are no bird species known as the Pintailed Parrot Finch. However, there is a bird species called the Pintailed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) which is a small parrot found in parts of South Asia. Here is some information about the Pintailed Parakeet:
- Physical characteristics: The Pintailed Parakeet is a small parrot, measuring around 35 cm in length. The males have bright green plumage, a blue head, and a red beak. The females are slightly duller in color and lack bright blue heads. Both sexes have long, pointed tails with blue and yellow feathers.
- Habitat: The Pintailed Parakeet is found in parts of South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, and parts of Southeast Asia. It inhabits a range of forested habitats, including tropical and subtropical forests, as well as mangroves and other wooded areas.
- Diet: The Pintailed Parakeet feeds on a variety of fruits, seeds, and other plant material. It has a specialized tongue that allows it to extract nectar from flowers, and will also feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
- Breeding: The breeding season for the Pintailed Parakeet is from February to June in India. The female will lay 3-4 eggs in a nest made from twigs and leaves in a tree cavity.
- Conservation status: The Pintailed Parakeet is listed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, it is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation due to deforestation and human development.
Overall, the Pintailed Parakeet is a colorful and fascinating bird species found in parts of South Asia. Its specialized diet and unique breeding behavior make it an important member of its ecosystem.
Scientific Name: Erythrura prasina
Origin: India and Indonesia
A rather timid and nervous bird that requires careful acclimatization, but thrives well if given a little extra attention. Once established in a well-planted aviary, it lives outside without any difficulty. It mixes well with other seed-eaters of similar size and is not aggressive, but needs plenty of space to exercise, as it tends to get fat.
Description:
Size: 13 cm (S in)
COCK:
Body: green. Face and throat: blue. Lower breast, tail, and rump: bright red. Long pointed central tail feathers. Beak: black. Legs: cream.
HEN:
Similar, but no blue on the face or red on the lower parts. The hen also has a much shorter tail. The immature cock bird resembles a hen.
Diet: (Seedeater)
Green food and sprouted seed are enjoyed. Grit and cuttlefish bones are essential. This species often needs unpolished rice during the acclimatization period as it sometimes refuses other food, but later canary seed often proves the favorite seed.
Breeding:
The cock bird performs a very interesting courting dance, circling the hen and jerking his tail up and down while uttering a few strange noises.
The nest may be built in a box, in a bush, or under some form of cover. More than one pair of this species can be kept in a mixed collection, as fighting is unlikely. Four to five eggs form an average clutch. The incubation period is 13 days and both parents take turns in sitting on the eggs. Try to provide plentiful supplies of soaked seed and a few mealworms and ants’ eggs.
Pintailed Parrot Finch Information
- The bird is found naturally in Thailand, Java, Sumatra, West Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. In wild, as the bird is dependent on seeds of grasses and bamboo it mainly inhabits forest edges. They are also found in rice plantations where they are regarded as pests as a great number of crops are damaged by them.
- Breeders find difficulty in breeding the birds.
- For successful breeding, the birds are to be at first made accustomed to the captive environment when young.
- The birds at first must be kept in aviaries that have an average temperature of around 25 degrees. Later on, as the bird gets accustomed to the new habitat the temperature can be reduced to 20 degrees Celsius.
- For raising and rearing chicks you may introduce Bengalese birds as foster parents.
- To promote successful parent rearing the birds are to be kept in aviaries that have dense scrubs and plants.
- The birds have the habit of building nests at various heights. So you may attach nests for them at varying heights in planted trees in the aviary.
- For materials for nest building, you may supply them with coconut fibers, dry grasses, sisal, and moss.
Make provisions for the pair to hide when you are introducing the nests for them to lay eggs. It is out of their instinct that they would hide and then again would come out and start building their nest.
See more: Pintailed Whydah