Slaty-headed Parakeets
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The slaty-headed parakeets make excellent pets for owners who understand and meet their needs, but don't learn to talk.
Slatyheads are bigger than Plumheads. The hens are slightly smaller than the cock, the body approximately the same size as that of an Eastern Rosella.
A variety of mutations have been produced, including blue, olive, lutino & albino.
Diet
A small parrot mix, in addition to fruits, vegetables, soaked seed consisting of mung beans, milo, wheat and sunflower - and green food, such as dandelions, chicory, endives or sprouted seeds.
Breeding:
Breeding activities may begin at the end of July, August or early September. Average clutch size is 4 to 6 eggs and incubation lasts 24 to 25 days. Only the hen incubates, and the male feeds her in the nest. The young fledge at about 6 weeks. It is recommended to check on the chicks to make sure that they are properly fed and attended to. If the parents lack the necessary parenting skills, fostering may become necessary. However, in the rule, they make excellent parents.
- Advice & Tips on Breeding Birds.
Description:
Green; head dark grey with slight bluish hue; black stripes to cheeks and narrow band to nape, with adjoining bluish-green band; dark red patch to wing-coverts; under wing-coverts greenish-blue; middle tail-feathers blue with green base and yellow tips; upper mandible red with yellow tip, lower mandible yellowish; iris whitish; feet grey.
Female without or with greatly reduced dark red patch to wing-coverts. Immatures with greenish head and brownish-green cheeks; narrow green band to nape; upper and lower mandible horn-coloured with brownish base to lower mandible; adult plumage attained at 30 months
Length: 40 cm (15.5 ins), wing length 158 - 178 mm (6-7 ins)
Distribution:
The Slaty-headed Parakeet Psittacula himalayana is the only psittacid species to exhibit altitudinal migration. The species' range extends from the foothills of Western Himalayas till Arunachal Pradesh. They descend to the valleys in winter, approximately during the last week of October.
Taxonomy:
Species: Scientific: Psittacula himalayana aka Psittacula himalayana himalayana ... English: Slaty-headed Parakeet, Black-headed Parakeet ... Dutch: Grijskopparkiet ... German: Schwarzkopfedelsittich, Himalayasittich ... French: Perruche à tête gris 
CITES II- Endangered Species Distribution: eastern Afghanistan to northern India, Assam north of Brahmaputra, Nepal
Related Web Resources: Lexicon of Parrots ... Plumhead & Slatyhead Parrots - Terry Atkinson; PSA ... Wanadoo.nl
Sub-species:
Finsch's Parakeets: The Grey-headed Parakeet (Psittacula finschii) is closely related to the Slaty-headed Parakeet (described above) which together form a super-species. It occurs from the North-eastern states of India, into Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The binomial of this bird commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Otto Finsch.
Description: as himalayana - described above, but generally more yellowish; head less bluish; under wing-coverts dark bluish-green; middle tail-feathers violet-blue with yellowish-white tips; smaller, but tail as long as himalayana Length: 36 cm (14 ins), wing length 140 - 152 mm (5.5 - 6 ins)
Species: Scientific: Psittacula finschii aka Psittacula himalayana finschii ... English: Grey-headed Parakeet, Finsch's Parakeet ... Dutch: Finsch' Parkiet ... German: Finsch Edelsittich, Burma Schwarzkopfedelsittich ... French: Perruche à tête gris de Finsch
CITES II - Endangered Species Distribution: Ceylon, southern India north to about Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Related Web Resources: Lexicon of Parrots (Please scroll down to no. 2 - click on link to view photo)
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
