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Blue BonnetAlternative names: "Crimson-bellied Parrot", "Yellow-vented Parakeet", "Bulloak Parrot" Aboriginal name: "bulaybulay" [yuwaalaraay] |
Sightings
Although Blue Bonnets are seen in the Narrabri area quite regularly, their distribution is patchy. There was a family living on the paddocks of the property where we lived from 2003 to 2006, on the edge of Jack's Creek State Forest, 20 km south of Narrabri, New South Wales. However, they only came to the house and surrounding garden in wintertime. But we did almost always encounter up to 10 birds, throughout the year, in the Bohena area, just 10 km west further west.
Seen only infrequently in the Eulah Creek area for months, but with the ripening of seeds in late spring, increased numbers of Blue Bonnets were seen by us in the foothills of the Nandewar Range over the summer of 2007, starting in October. Later, a group of four birds was seen also in wintertime (August 2008).
Also spotted by us 10 km south of Maules Creek, NSW, on various occasions. Half a dozen birds were also spotted by us 35 km north of Narrabri in June 2009.
Possibly due to their shyness, not spotted by us at all on a trip westward from Narrabri, into outback NSW and South Australia, in March 2008.
Blue Bonnets are the parrots with the largest variety of colours and patterns, probably because northern NSW, where we live, is an overlap area between the habitats of two subspecies, "haematorrhous" and "haematogaster".
Photos
Pair of Blue Bonnets in a White Cedar tree in wintertime, 20 km south of Narrabri (click on image for larger version); the bird on the left is probably a male, the one on the right a female
Blue Bonnets enjoying the late afternoon sun in wintertime (click on image for larger version)
Blue Bonnet in the yard (click on image for larger version)
Frontal view of the underside of a Blue Bonnet, with an enormous richness of colours and patterns
We could also display here a few search images, with Blue Bonnets seen from the back in dry grass, which means that they are hardly visible.
Habits
Blue Bonnets are the shiest parrots in our area that we have spotted so far. Being exclusively ground-feeding, they are vulnerable to attacks by predators.