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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Elegant Parrots are small parrots. They have a yellow gape,
blue frons and otherwise olive-green head, chest and back.
The belly, vent and undertail coverts are yellow. The
uppertail is dark bluish-green, the undertail is yellow.
The mostly olive-green wings have turquoise shoulder patches,
a blue leading edge and near-black flight feathers.
The irises are dark, the bill is dark-grey and the legs and
feet are grey.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Elegant
Parrot at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Elegant Parrot is available
HERE
.
Elegant Parrots are endemic to Australia. They populate basically two
regions of the Australian continent:
Nominate race
"elegans" is
found in the south-eastern part of SA, from about
Adelaide, SA, along the Flinders Ranges, and also Eyre peninsula
and towards the SA/VIC border. Occasionally, they disperse further
into south-eastern SA, and sometimes into western VIC.
Race "carteri"
occurs in the South-West of WA (except the coastal tip). There are a
few reports of sightings along the Gascoyne River in north-western WA.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "elegans"
J. Greaves reports spotting an Elegant Parrot, nominate race
"elegans",
in Flinders Chase NP, Kangaroo Island, SA, in March 2016.
R. Plumtreereports finding an Elegant Parrot, nominate race
"elegans",
20 km North of Hawker, SA, in September 2018.
M. Mearns reports spotting Elegant Parrots, nominate race
"elegans",
in the Gawler Ranges, SA, in August 2018.
M. Eaton reports spotting Elegant Parrots, race
"elegans",
at Parnka Point, Coorong, SA, in April 2022.
Race "carteri"
M. Eaton reports spotting Elegant Parrots, race
"carteri",
at Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, in April 2019.
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Photos |
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Race "elegans"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Frontal view of a male Elegant Parrot
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Parnka Point, Coorong, SA, April 2022]
Frontal view of a male Elegant Parrot looking sideways
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Parnka Point, Coorong, SA, April 2022]
Frontal view of a male Elegant Parrot looking sideways
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Parnka Point, Coorong, SA, April 2022]
Near-frontal view of a male Elegant Parrot
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Hawker, SA, September 2018]
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FEMALE |
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Frontal view of a female Elegant Parrot
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Gawler Ranges, SA, August 2018]
Partially obscured near-frontal view of a female Elegant Parrot
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Gawler Ranges, SA, August 2018]
Race "carteri"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Male Elegant Parrot, race "carteri"(?), photographed in captivity
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FEMALE |
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Frontal portrait of a female Elegant Parrot feeding on
grass seeds
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, April 2019]
Near-frontal portrait of a female Elegant Parrot feeding on
grass seeds
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, April 2019]
Near-lateral view of a female Elegant Parrot in shady conditions
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, April 2019]
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Food, Diet |
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Lateral view of a female Elegant Parrot feeding on
grass seeds
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, April 2019]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.