Superb Parrot

Overview

The superb parrot (Polytelis swainsonii), also known as Barraband's parrot or green leek parrot, is a medium-sized parrot native to south-eastern Australia. It is one of three species in the genus Polytelis and is classified as an Australian endemic.

Identification

• Medium-sized bird approximately 40 cm long with a long, pointed tail.
• Mostly bright green plumage with a yellow-green neck.
• Adult males possess a bright yellow face and throat with a scarlet band across the upper chest.
• Adult females have a pale blue-green face, greyish-green throat, and orange thighs.
• Yellow-orange irises in adults, with brown irises in juveniles.

Habitat

Restricted to the dry sclerophyll woodlands of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. Notable sites for this species include the Barmah-Millewa, Murrumbidgee Red Gums, and South-west Slopes of NSW.

Diet

The diet consists mainly of eucalypt flowers, fruits, nectar, and pollen. It specifically consumes seeds and the green heads of the yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora).

• During the breeding season, small flocks of males often forage for food alone.

Did you know?

The species acquired the name Barraband's parrot after the artist Jacques Barraband, who illustrated it for Francois Le Vaillant in 1801, although it was not formally described by a naturalist until 1826.