The Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis) is endemic to eastern Australia found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas in and directly adjacent to subtropical and temperate rainforest. They feed on fruits and seeds gathered from trees or on the ground.
The male has a bright red head and breast wheras the female is mostly green. Although this female has a leg band, she is actually one of the wild parrots that hang around O’Reilly’s for a free meal.
King Parrots are easily found within their range as the males are very bright and conspicuous and the females stay close to their mates. You are pretty much guaranteed to see them at O’Reilly’s and the small cafe near Jolly’s Lookout near Brisbane.
LEARN MORE ABOUT AUSTRALIAN KING PARROTS
VIDEOS
There’s no shortage of King Parrot videos online. This one is good for the close ups of the birds foraging and you can clearly see the difference between the male and female.
This little guy from the Blue Mountains in NSW has no trouble with accepting hand outs (literally)!
And here is a whole flock (mostly juveniles) that visit someone’s back yard. Notice the pleasant sound they make!