One of the (many) pleasures of going away for a while is the chance to see some species of parrot that are not part of my daily scene.
Although I would not have to move very far from where I live to see them regularly Australian King Parrots are still a bit of a novelty to me - so I was more than pleased to find them in the garden of the house we stayed in during the last school holidays. (You can read about that trip here)
As you can see, Australian King Parrots are rather bright - in fact in some lights the red head feathers of the male are so bright that photographs of them take on a rather unreal feel! The females and juveniles are hardly dull, but they are a little more toned down than the males.
Australian King-Parrots (once know as King's Parrot) are a robust bird of about 40 - 44 cm in length. Their scientific name - Alisterus scapularis - means Alister's shouldered bird. Alister being the four year old son of an ornithologist, and the shoulder relating to the pale wing stripe.
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| Male, showing pale wing stripe |
Now it's your turn to join in with WBW. Good number of bloggers have been linking up over the past month, but we can always find space for more! So, invite away and don't forget to link back here!
As a bit of a special plea, could I remind people to link to a specific post on their blog so that the link takes the "clicker" to the specific post. Also, if you could disable the word verification nightmare thing that would be great - but of course this is only a request!
Beautiful colors Stewart. I appreciate you sharing these, since we have none like this in our area of Texas.
ReplyDeletereally beautiful birds!
ReplyDelete(and i totally agree on the word verification plea!)
This is one of the reasons I'd love to live in Australia - the chance to see parrots in the wild! Nice shots.
ReplyDeletePS...I agree with you a thousand per cent Stewart on hyperlinking JUST the POST instead of the blog. It is a time saver for the ones who visit others.
ReplyDeleteYous should put that plea next week, in bold!!!
Prachtige vogel wat een mooie kleuren.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful, colorful bird and your captures are terrific, Stewart!! And, oh, yes!! Get rid of the word verification!!! Hope your week is going well!! Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteOh these are such brightly coloured birds! Fabulous captures Stewart, and a real treat to see.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful birds. That male is certainly striking, and like a beacon in the night! I hate word verification too...such a pain.
ReplyDeleteAnother brilliant Aussi Bird. Regarding the names fo birds you might be interested that I have recently purchased a book called Who's Bird (Bo Beolens & Michael Watkins. Published by Helm) which describes the people who have given their names to birds.
ReplyDeleteThey are so large, and the red on that head is amazing!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous birds! I'd love to be able to see parrots on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteThey look like a "safe" parrot having a small beak as they do.
ReplyDeleteI think you are very fortunate to see these in the wild Sadly here in the US we only think of them in cages.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful birds! I really like your composition of the first shot. Lovely!
I really like these handsome parrots. That head really is bright red, but nothing wrong with that. From Findlay
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful pictues of the King Parrot, Stewart. They are indeed beautiful and the male is outstanding. What a blessing to be able to spend time in their company. I don't know if I could have resisted slipping them a treat or two ... but then, I know they are probably better off if you don't. Thanks for another peek into your world.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From The Sol
I've never taken pictures of birds so I'm not able to take part - but feel quite moved to see the parrots. Our birds are mostly dull until quite close up. They often have a bright feather here and there but few are as in-you-eye as the birds you show here.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed by all of your parrots! We don't see them often here.....maybe one of two can be seen in the wild. But parrots are rare finds here! Thanks for sharing your wonderful birds.....incredible colors on this one!
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful bird!
ReplyDeleteGreetings, RW & SK
Hallo Stewart!
ReplyDeleteLong time since I last was here, I've been busy because I have become a grandmother now!
Very lovely photos of those colorful and beautiful birds!
Greetings Pia
Great photos and beautiful parrots. I hear them more often than see them around my place.
ReplyDeleteWonderful birds to see...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and striking bird
ReplyDeleteNo birds today. Thank you for sharing yours... can only imagine seeing those beautiful birds in the wild. And yes I too hate word verification.
ReplyDeleteWow, a daily visitor? You are lucky to see these gorgeous King Parrots. Wonderful photos, thanks for hosting. Have a happy week ahead!
ReplyDeleteThey are stunning. I'm going to Nicaragua this winter. Parrots!
ReplyDeleteThose are spectacular parrots! I can't begin to imagine seeing them flying about in the wilds. Remarkable colors!
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous birds! Love the fence post shot! I like the name, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteKing Parrots are very colorful and your photos are great. I am happy to say that I was able to enter this week.
ReplyDeleteWow Stewart, the King Parrots are stunning birds! I miss seeing parrots as we only seem to have had them in Kenya. In South Africa we only get them in the Cape and our home in far inland in the center of the country. I hope my links and comment availability are OK. I have disabled my Word Verification (or maybe I never had it!) Have a great day. Jo (Tanzania)
ReplyDeleteYour local birds (and your photos of them) never cease to amaze me. Both are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGreat, these parrots, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteThese are not in the wild in the Netherlands, only in the zoo.
Greetings Irma
Hi Stewart I haveonly seen theseParrotsafewthings and they are a fantastic bird. Thanks for sharing adn hosting this meme. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThey really are quite regal! Wonderful shots, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteIt would be so cool to see these flying in the wild.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird!!!
An amazing bird. Lucky you to photograph him. And so well, I might add!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the word verification issue!! If I'm on my ipad, it's a double nightmare, so I usually don't leave a comment at all after trying once and it doesn't work.
I love the parrots Stewart, if I see anything so exotic looking over here, ite usualy in a cage.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Gordon.
wow - beautiful pictures
ReplyDeleteSplendid colors!
ReplyDeleteStewart I remarked to another of your contributors just the other day about the number of parrots you seem to have in Australia. Now you come up with yet another. This one is another beautiful coloured thing too and your pictures are just spot on.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird and how fantastic to see them in the wild. Great shots.
ReplyDeleteBTW: I managed to write 'flap' and leave out any embarrassing visuals out. heh heh! MB
Really beautiful birds. I like your pictures!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you take a look to my pictures? Thank you.
Greetings, Helga
http://room39-blog.blogspot.de
Such a beautiful bird :) I love how bright its colors are ! The pictures have come out great Stewart. Have a lovely day :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colors in these birds!
ReplyDeleteYour parrots are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI suppose there are less significant things that could be tagged to a name than that of the Sceintific name being given from a four year old son of an ornithologist, named Alister...I kind of like that name, had never heard of it either ;) Stewart, these are grand looking images of what must be delightful birds. Sorry, I am so later, but have had a difficult week in many ways~
ReplyDeletenice post
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