Australian King Parrot

The Australian King Parrot is a large, elegant parrot with a notably long tail, found through the forests of eastern Australia. Males are strikingly bicolored, with an all-red head, neck, and underparts contrasting sharply against a green back, wings, and tail. Females are more subdued, with an entirely green head and breast, though they retain a red lower belly and undertail.

Both sexes have a distinctive pale blue-green rump patch and a slender, mostly dark bill (males show a red-orange upper mandible). Their unhurried, deliberate movements through the forest canopy and willingness to feed in the open make them a popular and readily observed species across their range.

Key field marks

• Large size with a long, broad tail
• Males: solid red head and underparts, green back and wings
• Females: green head and breast, red lower belly/undertail only
• Pale blue-green rump patch in both sexes
• Red-orange upper mandible in adult males

Similar species

There are no closely similar species within its range; the combination of size, long tail, and red/green plumage pattern is distinctive. Young males resemble females but gradually acquire the red head and neck with age.

Habitat

Australian King Parrots favor rainforest, wet eucalypt forest, and densely vegetated gullies, but also visit adjoining farmland, orchards, and forested suburban gardens to feed.

Range

The species is found along the eastern coast and ranges of Australia, from far north Queensland through New South Wales to eastern Victoria.

Migration

Mostly sedentary, though some altitudinal movement occurs, with birds descending from higher forests to lower, warmer areas during winter.

Behavior

King Parrots are often seen in pairs or small family groups, moving with slow, deliberate hops along branches, and can become quite tame around picnic areas and gardens where food is available.

Voice

The flight call is a sharp, ringing "crassak-crassak," while a softer, more musical piping is used between perched birds.

Feeding

They feed on native and introduced seeds, fruits, nuts, and blossoms, foraging both in the canopy and occasionally on the ground, often holding food items in one foot.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are placed in deep, often very tall tree hollows, sometimes low inside a hollow trunk close to the ground. Clutches usually number three to six white eggs, incubated by the female alone for about three weeks, with chicks fledging roughly five weeks after hatching.