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Australian Wildlife

  Rock Parrot (Neophema petrophila)





Rock Parrot | Neophema petrophila photo
Rock Parrot (Neophema petrophila) with grass seed, Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Image by Cas Liber - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)







ROCK PARROT FACTS

Description
Small parrot; head, rear and sides of neck and upper body olive green. Light blue between front of eye and base of bill. Dark blue band from eye to eye across upper part of forehead, bordered above by a light blue line that ends in a small triangle behind each eye. Wings mostly olive, with two blue tones along leading edge. In flight, blue patches seen to darken to black at tips. Body to 24 cm; wingspan to 34 cm.

These parrots are rarely seen more than a few hundred metres from the coast. Their species name refers to their particular habitat, petrophila formed from the Greek terms for being fond of rock or stone.

Author credit: Alexis Tindall / South Australian Museum

Habitat
Coastlines, adjacent rocky islands or formations. Sandy beaches and rocky areas, often near cliffs or headlands, sometimes with low shrub.

Food
Herbivore

Range
Southern Australia

distribution map showing range of Neophema petrophila in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Psittaciformes
Family:Psittacidae
Genus:Neophema
Species:petrophila
Common Name:Rock Parrot

Relatives in same Genus
  Orange-bellied Parrot (N. chrysogaster)
  Blue-winged Parrot (N. chrysostoma)
  Elegant Parrot (N. elegans)
  Turquoise Parrot (N. pulchella)
  Scarlet-chested Parrot (N. splendida)