link to a photo report -- Princess Parrots and other rarities

[Chris <>]

Hi Andrew,

thanks for your reply.

No - definitely not an Alexandrine .. I have friends who have one of these - they're quite different; much larger and the proportions of colours are very different.

I was there again today and saw a total of 6 birds. Two pairs flew past quickly and I can't be sure of what they were. The other pair was sitting on a fence - again one showed the pink and blue colouration, and I think I was surprised to see bright green as well. I really can't be sure of my memory now because I've just looked up photos on the web again and seen the bright green and now I don't know if I'm planting the memories in my head or if I really remembered it. All I do know is that the parrots aren't any of the common ones that I've seen plenty of times (e.g. crimson rosella, eastern rosella, australian king, rainbow lorikeet). They're about the size of a rainbow lorikeet. Also, they're not red-rumped parrots, which I've seen at Homebush. And I'm pretty sure I'm remembering pinkish/bluish/grey colouration. Not cockatiels either.

Unfortunately the long lens on my camera has seized, so I won't be able to get a photo of one for a while yet (that's how I'd ordinarily check the ID on anything unusual I haven't seen before) but I'm starting to wonder if there's a small group of princess parrots established in Sydney's south now? - probably escapees as you say Andrew.

The second bird on the fence didn't share the colouration - it seemed to be all, or mostly, green. They flew off pretty quick so I didn't get a great look, but the first bird matched whatever I've seen there previously.

Chris.

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From: Andrew Taylor <>
To: Chris <>
Cc:
Sent: Tue, 11 August, 2009 11:48:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] link to a photo report -- Princess Parrots and other rarities

Captive Princess Parrots do escape in Sydney:
http://www.petsearch.com.au/ShowPets.asp?CurrentPage=4&Type=13
But some other escapees might fit your description, e.g.:
Psittacula sp. (Alexandrine Parakeet etc).

Andrew

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