Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y  

12

Mulga Parrot

(Psephotus varius)
Alternate name(s): "Many-coloured Parrot", "Varied Parrot"
Aboriginal name(s): "djookin" (WA), "baadl-baadl"

Size: 26-30 cm
Weight: 60-70 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Mulga Parrot at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a look here .

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Bronzewing State Forest, near Patchewollock, VIC, October 2019]

Frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

Near-frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Bronzewing State Forest, near Patchewollock, VIC, October 2019]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whyalla Conservation Park, Whyalla, SA, June 2022]

Close-up near-frontal view of two male Mulga Parrots (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whyalla Conservation Park, Whyalla, SA, June 2022]

Near-frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Near-lateral view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

Lateral portrait of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Bronzewing State Forest, near Patchewollock, VIC, October 2019]

Lateral view of a male Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

Lateral view of two preening male Mulga Parrots
[Gundabooka NP, NSW, September 2017]

Dorsal view of a male Mulga Parrot
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

Dorsal view of a male Mulga Parrot wiping its bill (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Whyalla Conservation Park, Whyalla, SA, June 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a female Mulga Parrot
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

Near-dorsal view of a female Mulga Parrot (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

PAIR

Lateral view of a pair of Mulga Parrots (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Arid Lands Botanical Garden, Port Augusta, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a pair of Mulga Parrots - female on the left (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Lateral view of a pair of Mulga Parrots (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

FEMALE

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile female Mulga Parrot; note the orange bill of a juvenile and the dull colours and reddish wing bar of a female (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles CP, SA, October 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: July - Nov Eggs: 4 - 5 Incubation period: 18 - 20 days Fledging age: 28 - 35 days

Nest building: ? Incubation: Female Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Tree hollow Material: ? Height above ground: 3 - 5 m

If no proper tree hollow can be found, Mulga Parrots will also nest in cavities in dead tree stumps or even in earth holes in steep banks. The female is fed by the male at the nest while incubating the eggs.

Entrance to a Mulga Parrot nest in a live eucalypt
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 24 x 19 mm Colour: White Shape: Rounded

Food, Diet

Adults: Seeds Dependents: Regurgitated seeds Water intake: Daily

Lateral view of a male Mulga Parrot feeding on seeds in a shrub (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Male Mulga Parrot feeding on what looks like berries (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Male Mulga Parrots drinking water (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a male Mulga Parrot drinking from a leaking water tank
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

mulgpar_20190620.m4a (SW QLD) Alarm calls (male) © MD

More Mulga Parrot sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.