The Lord Derby's parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) belongs to the family of parakeets, Psittaculidae.
These parakeet species are distributed in the extreme northeast of India and southern China. These parakeet species are sexually dimorphic. The name of this bird commemorates Lord Edward Stanley. The Lord Derby's parakeets are monotypic species.
Lord Derby's parakeet - Overview
- Scientific name: Psittacula derbiana
- Species author: (Fraser, 1852)
- Synonyms/Protonym: Palaeornis Derbianus Fraser, 1852
- Family: Psittaculidae › Psittaciformes › Aves › Chordata › Animalia
- Vernacular names: English: Lord Derby's parakeet, Chinese: 大紫胸鹦鹉, French: Perruche de Derby, German: Chinasittich, Spanish: Cotorra de Derby, Russian: Китайский кольчатый попугай, Japanese: オオダルマインコ
- Other names: Derbyan Parakeet, Chinese Parakeet, Upper Yangtze Parakeet
- Distribution: Northeast India, southern China
- Diet and feeding habits: wild fruits, orchard fruits, berries, seeds, flowers, buds, nuts, grains
- IUCN status listing: Near Threatened (NT)
Appearance, physical description and identification
The Lord Derby's parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) is a medium-sized parakeet, measuring 45 to 50 cm in length.The Lord Derby's parakeet species are sexually dimorphic. The plumage on the nape and upperparts is mostly green. The median wing coverts are yellowish green. The crown is pale bluish purple. The lore region has a black band stretching across the forehead from one eye to another eye.
The lower cheeks and chin have black patches. The throat, breast, abdomen, feet and under-wing coverts are pale purple blue. The thighs and vent region has yellowish green plumage. The tail is greenish and blue.
The male parakeet has red upper mandible, tipped pale yellow. The lower mandible is black. In females, both the mandibles are black. The irises are pale yellow. The color is duller in immature birds.
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| Birds of India - Image of Lord Derby's parakeet - Psittacula derbiana by Doug Janson |
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| Indian birds - Picture of Lord Derby's parakeet - Psittacula derbiana by krislorenz |
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| Birds of India - Photo of Lord Derby's parakeet - Psittacula derbiana by Michael Vito |
Origin, geographical range and distribution
The Lord Derby's parakeet species are distributed in north-eastern India and southern China. In India, they are distributed in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. In China, they are distributed in south-eastern Tibet, western Szechwan and western Yunnan provinces.Ecosystem and habitat
These Lord Derby's parakeet species are moderately forest dependent. These species occur in altitudes from 0 to 4000 meters. They inhabit artificial ecosystems and forest and shrubland ecosystems.The Lord Derby's parakeet species inhabit temperate forests, tropical and subtropical high altitude shrublands, moist evergreen montane forests, foothill forests, coniferous forests, mixed pine-oak forests, alpine thickets, cultivated fields, plantations and orchards.
Diet and feeding behavior
The diet of these Lord Derby's parakeet species is mostly wild fruits. Wild fruits, berries, seeds, flowers, leaf buds, barley and orchard fruits are their primary food.They have been destructive to ripening orchard fruits and crops. Sometimes, they descent to the forest floor to forage on fallen fruits. They have been observed to feed on invertebrates.
Reproduction and breeding habits
The breeding season of these Lord Derby's parakeet species is during June in southeastern Tibet. They nest in tree hollows. The clutch usually has two to four eggs. The chicks hatch after 23 days of incubation and fledge in about two months.Migration and movement patterns
The Lord Derby's parakeet is a non-migrant resident bird.They appear to be summer visitors to north-eastern India. They also undertake some altitudinal movements in winter. Post breeding, the Lord Derby's parakeet juveniles may disperse and establish in new locations within the range. They may make local movements for feeding and breeding within their range.
Conservation and survival
The global population size of the Lord Derby's parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) has not been quantified. The overall population size of these species is considered to be decreasing at a moderately rapid rate. Throughout its range it is reported to be fairly common. The generation length is 7.1 years. Their distribution size is about 632,000 sq.km.The Lord Derby's parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) is approaching the thresholds for being Vulnerable under the range size criterion, under the population trend criterion and also under the population size criterion. Degradation and fragmentation of forests, felling of nest trees, collection of eggs and trapping for pet trade are the main threats that may endanger the survival of these parakeet species.
IUCN and CITES status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the parakeet species and has listed it as "Near Threatened". CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) status is ‘Evaluated’ for the Lord Derby's parakeet (Psittacula derbiana) and is listed in Appendix II.| Taxonomy and scientific classification of Psittacula derbiana | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittaculidae |
| Subfamily: | Psittaculinae |
| Genus: | Psittacula |
| Species: | P. derbiana |
| Binomial name: | Psittacula derbiana |
| IUCN status listing: |  Near Threatened |
1.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Psittacula_derbiana-20050502.jpg
Image author: Doug Janson | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
2.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Psittacula_derbiana_-Wilhelma_Zoo,_Stuttgart,_Germany_-pair-8a.jpg
Image author: krislorenz | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 (as on 2017/02/12)
3.Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Psittacula_derbiana_-Hangzhou,_Zhejiang,_China_-male-8a.jpg
Image author: Michael Vito | License: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 (as on 2017/02/12)
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