xxbruce@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov (Bruce Canright) (04/26/91)
For several years now we've enjoyed parakeets in our house
and sometimes wonder what they are liks in "the wild". Are
they native to Australia? Anyone seen (flocks of) them there?
What is their diet? and so on...
--
Bruce Noah Canright xxbruce@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov
NASA Lewis Research Center (216)-433-5189
Cleveland, OH
"all in all, we're all just bricks in the wall"andrewt@cluster.cs.su.oz.au (Andrew Taylor) (04/27/91)
In article <1991Apr26.120308.2658@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>, xxbruce@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov (Bruce Canright) writes: > For several years now we've enjoyed parakeets in our house > and sometimes wonder what they are liks in "the wild". Are > they native to Australia? Anyone seen (flocks of) them there? > What is their diet? and so on... Budgerigars flocks are a common sight in inland Australia. Only the green and yellow shell pattern colouring occurs in the wild. I'd guess grass seeds make up most of their diet. Like many inland birds they are nomads, their movements and numbers controlled by the availability of water. My image of a Budgerigar is a flock of several hundred flashing green & yellow as it wheels in the early morning sun. The backdrop the pale red and browns of arid grassland. In the panorama could be scattered Red Kangaroos with the heads down feeding, a wary pair of Bustards, a strolling Emu, a Brown Falcon on the limb of an isolated dead tree and a few Cockatiels calling as they follow the budgies. Andrew Taylor
gpwrmdh@gp.co.nz (04/28/91)
In article <1991Apr26.120308.2658@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov>, xxbruce@convx1.lerc.nasa.gov (Bruce Canright) writes: > For several years now we've enjoyed parakeets in our house > and sometimes wonder what they are liks in "the wild". Are > they native to Australia? Anyone seen (flocks of) them there? > What is their diet? and so on... In New Zealand we have two main species of parakeets (the red-crowned and the yellow-crowned), which are also known as kakariki. They are not very common on the mainland, but I thrive on some of the offshore islands. Subspecies occur on some island groups, such as the Chathams, Antipodes, and Kermadecs. So I am afraid that I have not actually seen many of these birds in the wild. The food is shoots, seeds, and other vegetable matter, according to the book I am looking at (Birds of New Zealand and Outlying Islands, M.F.Soper). Both types of parakeet are predominantly green, with some colouring on the head. The Antipodes Island parakeet is green almost all over. Another book (New Zealand Birds in Focus, Geoff Moon) says of the red-crowned "It feeds on vegetable matter such as buds and shoots of a variety of shrubs, seeds and flowers." They lay 5 to 9 eggs in a clutch, and both parents feed the chicks. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin D. Hunt GP Print Limited USEnet address : martinh@gp.co.nz Wellington PSI address : PSI%0530147000028::martinh New Zealand Phone : +64 4 4965790 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
stewartw@cognos.UUCP (Stewart Winter) (05/02/91)
In article <1991Apr28.164957.1504@gp.co.nz> gpwrmdh@gp.co.nz writes: >In New Zealand we have two main species of parakeets (the red-crowned and >the yellow-crowned), which are also known as kakariki. They are not very >common on the mainland, but I thrive on some of the offshore islands. >They lay 5 to 9 eggs in a clutch, and both parents feed the chicks. Our friend's kakarikis is sitting on 11 eggs. So far 4 have hatched. I don't see how she could have sat on all 11 properly, (and the female did almost all the sitting), but we shall see. The male talks (surprised me). His mate's name is tui and he says "hi tui, hi tui tui" when he goes into the nest box. Stewart -- Stewart Winter Cognos Incorporated S-mail: P.O. Box 9707 VOICE: (613) 738-1338 x3830 FAX: (613) 738-0002 3755 Riverside Drive UUCP: stewartw%cognos.uucp@ccs.carleton.ca Ottawa, Ontario The bird of the day is .... Illiger's Macaw CANADA K1G 3Z4