Bluebonnets, as they are commonly referred to, are small

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

parrots Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and classed within the ''Northiella''

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

—the eastern bluebonnet (''N. haematogaster'' Gould, 1838) and the Naretha bluebonnet (''N. narethae'' H.L. White, 1921). The genus is named in honour of Australian

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Alfred John North Alfred John North (11 June 1855 – 6 May 1917) was an Australian ornithologist. North was born in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar School. He was appointed to the Australian Museum, Sydney in 1886 and was given a permanent positi ...

Description

The two bluebonnet species are medium-sized parrots endemic to Australia. Their upper body, back and neck areas are a light brown to grey. With the base of their wings having a dark blue patches. However, this species is primarily known for its

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red col ...

-coloured belly, yellow chest and light blue forehead and face. The males within this species group can measure up to 35 cm in length with the females measuring to around 32 cm. Their weight varies between 70-100 grams, depending on the maturity and sex of the bird.

Distribution

This species is found throughout the central land of Australia, extending from the southern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, majority of the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(excluding the eastern coastline) to Northern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. There is also evidence of this species being found within the State of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and the eastern side of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Habitat

The Bluebonnet birds are primarily found within dry inland areas across south-eastern Australia. The favoured habitat for this species is in the Mallee region of north-west Victoria. Where it is found throughout cleared agricultural landscapes

Taxonomy

For many years, bluebonnets were identified under the genus ''Psephotus'' which categorized them with the red-rumped parrot. The Eastern bluebonnet, ''Northiella haematogaster'' is distinguished by their crimson underbelly and the Naretha bluebonnet, ''Northiella narethae'' was further separated by the crimson colour under the tail rather than under the belly.

Behaviour

The blue bonnet bird is most active within the spring months of the year. They also have a tendency to be found in small groups due to their social behaviour. Where they are found to be most active during

dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enoug ...

and

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

, this is hypothesized to avoid predator encounters with

Nankeen Kestrel The nankeen kestrel (''Falco cenchroides''), also known as the Australian kestrel, is a raptor native to Australia and New Guinea. It is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply pe ...

or other ground dwelling bird eating mammals. Bluebonnets will often stick in pairs and do not seasonally migrate, nor travel far past their home territory.

Diet

The Eastern Bluebonnet have observed drinking patterns of dusk and dawn. The primary diet includes seeds, fruits, small insects and flowers. The Bluebonnet has included introduced vegetation species seeds into its diet such as buffel grass and native species such as the

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

Status

The Eastern bluebonnet global population is unknown but not classified as threatened. The largest known threat to the Eastern bluebonnet is the native vegetation clearing in Victoria.

Species

Two species, one of which has three currently recognised subspecies, comprise the genus ''Northiella'':Gill F. and Donsker D. (eds)
Family Psittaculidae
in IOC World Bird Names (ver 6.2), International Ornithologists’ Union, 2016. URL Retrieved 9 June 2016.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10801705 Broad-tailed parrots Endemic birds of Australia Taxa named by Gregory Mathews Taxa described in 1912