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Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius) Alternate name(s): "Many-coloured Parrot", "Varied Parrot" Aboriginal name(s): "djookin" (WA), "baadl-baadl" Size: 27-32 cm; wing span: 30-42 cm Body mass: 50-70 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.25-0.38

Australia: Family Group 12 Family Group 12 Table Palm Cockatoo Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Glossy Black-Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Short-billed Black-Cockatoo Long-billed Black-Cockatoo Gang-gang Cockatoo Long-billed Corella Western Corella Little Corella Cockatiel Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Pink Cockatoo Galah Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Purple-crowned Lorikeet Varied Lorikeet Musk Lorikeet Little Lorikeet Eclectus Parrot Red-cheeked Parrot Double-eyed Fig-Parrot Australian King-Parrot Red-winged Parrot Princess Parrot Superb Parrot Regent Parrot Green Rosella Crimson Rosella Western Rosella Eastern Rosella Pale-headed Rosella Northern Rosella Red-capped Parrot Australian Ringneck Red-rumped Parrot Mulga Parrot Golden-shouldered Parrot Hooded Parrot Blue Bonnet Bourke's Parrot Budgerigar Swift Parrot Eastern Ground Parrot Night Parrot Blue-winged Parrot Scarlet-chested Parrot Rock Parrot Turquoise Parrot Elegant Parrot Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Mulga Parrots are small parrots. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Mulga Parrots have a yellow frons and a red patch on the back of the head. Otherwise the head and front (throat, chest, part of the belly) is emerald-green. The rest of the belly is red, the vent is yellow, while the undertail is light-blue. The back, including much of the upperwings, is also green. The rump is red, the tail is turquoise-green. The wings have a yellow shoulder patch and blue leading edges. Female Mulga Parrots have much more subdued colours. The yellow frons and red head patch are paler than the males'. The rest of the body is greyish-turquoise, with more grey on the back and more turquoise on the front. The wings have a red shoulder patch. The bill of both sexes is grey, the irises are dark and the legs and feet are also grey. Juveniles generally have similar, although duller, colouring as adults of the same sex, but while young with an orange bill.

Taxonomy, classification See Mulga Parrot at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species 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 Mulga Parrot is available HERE . Mulga Parrots are endemic to Australia. The distribution of Mulga Parrots across the Australian continent is complex - for details see a field guide. Mulga Parrots are found mostly in the semi-arid interior, South of the tropic of Capricorn, from southern central QLD across the western half of NSW, along the Murray Darling Basin into south-eastern SA, all through the western half of SA and into the south-western corner of the NT. They are also found in the south-eastern interior of WA, but not along the coastline. Conditions permitting, they also occasionally cross the Nullarbor, near the WA/SA border. Only in SA are they found along the coastline, from just to the East of the Nullarbor to about the area of Adelaide, SA. Mulga Parrots are usually found in mallee-type woodland, (often mulga dominated) scrub and low shrubs in semi-arid to arid habitats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We spotted Mulga Parrots for the first time in March 2008, first in the floodplains of the Darling River in western NSW and later also in the Flinders Ranges, SA. In September 2012 a single Mulga Parrot was seen feeding in flowering scrub (Emu-bush [Eremophila longifolia]) about 25 km South of Bourke, NSW. M. Mearns reports spotting Mulga Parrots at Currawinya NP, in southern inland QLD, in October 2012. J. Greaves reports spotting Mulga Parrots at Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, in August 2016. In September 2017 we found a group of 5 Mulga Parrots in scrub in Gundabooka NP, NSW. M. Eaton reports finding Mulga Parrots at Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, in September 2017. Both M. Eaton and ourselves found Mulga Parrots there again in June 2019. Mulga Parrots were found by us on the Paroo River, in Hungerford, QLD, in June 2019. R. Plumtree reports spotting a Mulga Parrot at Bronzewing State Forest, near Patchewollock, VIC, in October 2019. M. Eaton spotted Mulga Parrots at the Whyalla Conservation Park, Whyalla, SA, and at the Arid Lands Botanical Garden, Port Augusta, SA, in June 2022. Others were found at Lake Gilles CP, SA, in October 2022.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

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

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

Lateral view of a pair of Mulga Parrots - note the dull appearance in overcast conditions
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

MALE

Frontal view of a male Mulga Parrot - note the yellow wing bar
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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

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

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

Close-up frontal and lateral view of two male Mulga Parrots
[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 looking backwards (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 looking towards the observer
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Mulga Parrot looking towards the observer
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Mulga Parrot
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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

Close-up near-frontal view of a female Mulga Parrot - note the red wing bar
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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 looking towards the observer
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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]

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

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive

Elementary unit: Pair/family

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]

Lateral view of a 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 water from a leaking tank
[Near Flinders Ranges NP, SA, March 2008]

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

Close-up lateral view of a female Mulga Parrot drinking water from a leaking 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.

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