Port Lincoln Parrot
(Barnardius z. zonarius)
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(Article supplied by Des Dowling)
This is an arid country bird, occupying a large part of inland Western Australia, and also moving across the inland borders of South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
They are a large solid bird with a black head, (although in the eastern extent of its range, the head is more greenish).
They are 37 cm in length, the upper half of the breast and neck area is bluish- green and the under parts are yellow. Female is slightly smaller with a narrower bill.
Human settlement of the drier country areas has provided more watering places for these birds with bore tanks and dams, which are handy for these birds, as they must have water.
Although mostly a seedeater they also relish Casuarina and Mulga flowers and fruit and seed. Acacia and Mallee also provide nourishment.
They are a hardy and long lived bird and are doing quite well in aviculture with more and more successful breeding. One pair per aviary is best as cocks get quite aggressive. Being good talkers and good whistlers they are becoming popular pet birds when hand raised as babies.
They prefer logs for nesting, hung at an angle, but solid nest boxes can also be successful. Larger aviaries are preferred to small areas as these birds like room to fly and need exercise. They breed in springtime, September to November. Four to six eggs are normal, incubation is 21 days.
Parrot mix seed is their basic diet but they like most fruits, especially apples and pears.
The Twenty-Eight Parrots is a subspecies of the Port Lincoln but is a bigger and stronger bird, black headed, and missing the yellowish underparts, which is mostly bluish-green. Many wild caught Twenty Eights have been brought from Western Australia to Eastern States, but they are a highly nervous and flighty bird, never settling down. However the situation improves after some aviary bred birds have been achieved.