Curio

State Library of New South Wales

King parrot (female) (Alisterus scapularis), 1790s

TAL & Dai-ichi Life Derby Collection, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW; Purchased from The Rt Hon. The 19th Earl of Derby, 2011; PXD 1098, vol. 4, f. 43

Watercolour

Juvenile King parrots resemble the female.
King parrots make a ‘ching-ching’ call.
King parrots are one of around 40 species of parrots in Australia.
A group of parrots is called a ‘pandemonium’.
King parrots have four types of cone in the retina of their eyes (humans have three) and can see into ultraviolet wavelengths.
Female King parrots differ from red headed males by having a completely green head and breast.