Saturday 25 May
Red-rumped parrot (Psephotus haematonotus)
What’s the World’s Favourite Species?Find out here.
Red-rumped parrot fact file
- Find out more
- Print factsheet
Red-rumped parrot description
This parrot is named after its most distinctive feature: the bright red patch of feathers on its rump. Its striking rump contrasts with the rest of the plumage, which on males is largely grass green and on females is a duller brownish-green. The underparts also differ slightly between the sexes; the male has a yellow belly shading to white under the tail, while females are yellowish-olive below (2). The more attractively coloured male may also have blue, grey and black shades in its wing feathers, a blue tinge to its forehead and lower cheeks, and a dark green tail, tipped black and edged in white. Immature red-rumped parrots are similar to females in appearance, but duller (2).
- Platycercus haematonotus. Top
- A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.
- IUCN Red List (June, 2007)
- del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (1997) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse To Cuckoos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
- CITES (June, 2007)
- World Parrot Trust (June, 2008)
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
Red-rumped parrot biology
The red-rumped parrot, which is most active at dawn and dusk (4), feeds on the seeds of grasses and herbs, shoots, leaves, blossoms and some fruits (2). To enable it to feed easily on seed heads, it cleverly perches on the stem of the plant until its weight bends the stem to the ground, which allows the parrot to peck up the seeds without difficulty (4).
Breeding takes place between August and January, when the red-rumped parrot builds a nest in a hollow tree limb or hole in the trunk, often near water, or on fence posts or in farm and suburban buildings. It lays between four and eight eggs and incubates the clutch for 19 days. The young hatchlings remain in the nest for around four weeks (2). While it is often seen in pairs or small flocks, outside of the breeding season groups consisting of over 100 individuals may occur (4).Top
Red-rumped parrot range
Two subspecies of the red-rumped parrot are recognised: Psephotus haematonotus haematonotus occurs in south-east Australia, from southern Queensland to Victoria and eastern South Australia, while Psephotus haematonotus caeruleus is found in the Lake Eyre region of South Australia, south-western Queensland and north-western New South Wales (2) (4).Top
Red-rumped parrot habitat
The red-rumped parrot inhabits open and riverine woodland, grassland, farmland, occasionally mangroves, and urban areas such as roadsides, parks and golf courses (2) (4). It occurs up to an elevation of around 1,100 metres (2)Top
Red-rumped parrot statusTop
Red-rumped parrot threats
Considered to be a common bird that is abundant in some parts of its range, the red-rumped parrot is not believed to be threatened with extinction (1) (2), although there is some evidence that numbers may be declining slightly (1). The reasons behind this are not clear.Top
Red-rumped parrot conservation
As the red-rumped parrot is found in the pet trade (4), this species is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning that any international trade in this species should be carefully controlled (3).Top
AuthenticationThis information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: firstname.lastname@example.orgTop
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.