Emerald-collared Parakeet
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Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, (''Psittacula calthrapae'') is a
parrot 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 ...
which is a resident
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
breeder in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist
Edgar Leopold Layard Edgar Leopold Layard MBOU, (23 July 1824 – 1 January 1900) was a British diplomat and a naturalist mainly interested in ornithology and to a lesser extent the molluscs. He worked for a significant part of his life in Ceylon and later ...
; his first wife, Barbara Anne Calthrop, whom he married in 1845, is commemorated in the specific epithet.


Description

Layard's parakeet is a green parrot, long including a tail up to . The adult has a bluish-grey head and back, separated by a green collar. There is a broad black chin stripe and the tail is blue tipped yellow. The upper mandible of the male's bill is red and the lower mandible is brown. The female is similar, but has an all black beak and less green on the face than the male. Immature birds are mainly green, with an orange bill.


Behaviour

Layard's parakeet is a bird of forests, particularly at the edges and in clearings, and also gardens. It is locally common. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. It is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season, when it often feeds with
brahminy starling The brahminy starling or brahminy myna (''Sturnia pagodarum)'' is a member of the starling family of birds. It is usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of the Indian subcontinent. Taxonomy The brahminy starling was S ...
s. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering. It nests in holes in large trees, laying 3–4 white eggs.


In culture

In
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, this bird is knowns as (ash-parrot) in Sinhala. This bird appears on a 50c Sri Lankan postal stamp. Also this bird appears in 500
Sri Lankan rupee The Sri Lankan rupee (, ; Currency symbol, symbol: ₨ in English, රු in Sinhala, ௹ in Tamil; ISO 4217, ISO code: LKR), known until 1972 as the Ceylon rupee, is the currency of Sri Lanka. It is subdivided into 100 cent (currency), cents (, ...
bank note ( 2010 series).


References


Bibliography

* ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp,


Cited texts

*


External links


World Parrot Trust
Parrot Encyclopedia – Species Profiles
Oriental Bird Images: ''Layard's parakeet''
(selected photos) *BirdLife International (2024).
Emerald-collared Parakeet ''Nicopsitta calthrapae''
Downloaded on 4 March 2025. {{Taxonbar, from=Q692953
Layard's parakeet Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, (''Psittacula calthrapae'') is a parrot which is a resident endemic (ecology), endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard ...
Birds of Sri Lanka Endemic birds of Sri Lanka Parakeets
Layard's parakeet Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, (''Psittacula calthrapae'') is a parrot which is a resident endemic (ecology), endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard ...
Layard's parakeet Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, (''Psittacula calthrapae'') is a parrot which is a resident endemic (ecology), endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard ...
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN