Hi all
i have up to 14 Australian King Parrots that regularly visit my garden. Today I had an unusual coloured King here.
Just wanted to know if any others had seen this colour variation. The photo is not very good as I had to take with my iPad and could not get very close without scaring the bird. It appears to be female but has clear yellow blotches on its back and neck.
Cheers Kerrie
Hello I have the same strange king parrot problem here also .
That's interesting. What area are you in? Does anyone on the forum know if these are young birds that may change the colour as they mature?
cheers Kerrie
I wish that I could help, but I haven't ever seen a king parrot like this before
The photo looks to me like a mature female King parrot, maybe it's just a deformity or sorts? Because she looks fine in other respects, were there more in the group with the same feather colouration?
Elsie
I have seen a few groups around my property. About 8 of them turned up, but I noticed they were treated like intruders, and soon disappeared. I suggest it could be some deficiency, could even be caused by (well meaning neighbours?) artificial feeding, as that fills up their bellies, but doeasn't give them the right nutrience.
M-L
These could also be areas without melanin, a melanin deficiency also causes abnormal colouration.
M-L
Thank you all for your comments. I must say that it did look like a youngster and did not appear to be associating with any other birds.
Cheers Kerrie
hello again I live in a town called Cecil plains about an hour from Toowoomba in Queensland .