Long-tailed Parakeet

Overview

The long-tailed parakeet (Psittacula longicauda), known in Malay as Burung Bayan Nuri, is a parakeet endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sumatra, Borneo, and Peninsular Malaysia including Singapore. Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, it is the only Psittacula species found across this entire range, being allopatric with the red-breasted parakeet except in the Andaman Islands where they coexist.

Identification

• Mainly green plumage with a distinctive long blue tail.
• Males possess a black cap and red cheek or face, while females lack the black cap and have less red on the cheeks.

Habitat

This species inhabits a wide variety of environments, including swamp and lowland evergreen forests, oil palm and coconut plantations, gardens, and public parks, up to elevations of 300 metres. It is a frequent visitor to agricultural areas that yield tropical fruits and seeds.

Diet

The diet consists of berries, papaya, areca nuts, a wide variety of cultivated and wild fruit, seeds, and cultivated grains such as corn. It forages in agricultural areas and is noted for its curious behaviour, often playing with sticks or other materials found in its environment.

Did you know?

Flocks of thousands of birds have been observed in the Andaman Islands and Borneo, although these large gatherings tend to appear during the breeding season.