Australian King Parrot

Alisterus scapularis 


 

Australian King Parrot King Parrot

All three main species of King Parrot are shown on this page. All have striking combinations of red (head/breast), green (wings) and blue (rump, collar, tail) plumage.

 The Australian King Parrot comes from Eastern Australia. It is the largest and has a more muted scarlet red colour, with a light green stripe on each wing.

King Parrot Australian King Parrot
 

Showing his royal blue back/rump.

King Parrot
The female Australian King Parrot has a green head, a more muted red front, only a faint pale green streak on the wings (or none) and a horn-coloured beak.
   

Papuan/Green-winged King Parrot

Alisterus chloropterus 


 

Green-winged King Parrot Papuan King Parrot

The Papuan or Green-winged King Parrot comes from Papua New Guinea. The male has much more vivid colours including a brighter red, a brighter blue and (despite its name) more blue in its dark green wings which gives more contrast to the almost luminous light green streak.

The parrot illustrated above is one of three sub-species with distinct ranges: Alisterus chloropterus moszkowskii. Unlike the two other sub-species, the female resembles the male with a red head, but is paler and has a much less contrasting wing-stripe. The females of the other two sub-species (chloropterus and callopterus) have green heads.

Moluccan/Amboina King Parrot

Alisterus amboinensis 


 

Moluccan King Parrot Amboina King Parrot Moluccan King Parrot

The six sub-species of the Moluccan King Parrot come from various islands of Indonesia (also called the Ambon/Amboina King Parrot although only the nominate sub-species (above) comes from Ambon Island). Unlike the two other King Parrots, the male and female Moluccans have similar plumage and lack the pale green wing-stripe.

Moluccan Buru King Parrot Buru Buru King Parrot

The parrot above is the Moluccan sub-species known as the Buru King Parrot, Alisterus amboinensis buruensis, from Buru Island, central Moluccas.
It has a wholly black beak rather than the red and black. It also has a blue nape.

Salawati King Parrot Salawati  
The Salawati King Parrot, Alisterus amboinensis dorsalis, (above) comes from West Papua. It has darker red plumage, a red and black beak and a blue nape/back.
   
       
     
Link to Red/Crimson/Maroon Shining Parrot