Singing parrots (Psephotus haematonotus)

Singing parrots (they are called singers) are common in Australia. They perfectly feel themselves on both natural and anthropogenic landscapes, and therefore in this country you can meet them almost everywhere. Singing parrots can nest in homes, like our swallows and sparrows, and feed in fields and on farms, pecking at scattered grains and eating the leftovers of food that a man feeds animals.

Psephotus haematonotus (the Latin name of these birds) is a special kind of parrots, distinguished primarily by melodic singing. I must say that only males sing. The females, echoing, produce sounds resembling a whistle. However, this whistle has many shades and is also quite melodic. But the songs of the males are reminiscent of the trills of our forest birds with a rich set of iridescent sounds.

Singing parrots are rather small, much smaller than most of their fellow humans. The size of the adult bird is up to 27 cm. Males are distinguished by color, in which the predominant color is bright green, in addition, they have a bright red tadpole. The female has a more simple color (brown-brown). Such color variations are purely natural. In captivity, singing parrots with the color of pastel tones (color mutation, the result of the work of breeders) are increasingly found.

The popularity of singing parrots is explained by a peace-loving disposition, undemanding to forages and, of course, a pleasant voice. "But even the talking parrot sings!" - you will say. He sings, but his singing is the result of imitation of other birds, and not always a successful imitation. But singing parakeets - singing is natural, the voice is given to them by mother-nature.

I must say that, while listing other advantages of these birds, we forgot about another, no less important - singing parrots are fully capable of multiplying, even in cages. Usually, aviaries (usually corner ones) are built for this, occupying little space. In such an enclosure, if it is quite spacious, you can settle other birds. As an option - wavy parrots. Singing at wavy parrots only males. By the way, they are also able to copy other birds. The only thing you can not do is put several pairs of singing parrots in the same enclosure - during the mating periods the males will necessarily make fights.

As for food, singing parrots will be served by a standard mixture of cereals for corals and wavy parrots (from the pet store). In addition, in the diet necessarily presence of greenery, berries, fruits, animal feed, pure water. This is important for birds of any age.

For breeding, it is better to use a separate enclosure with a standard small parakeet nest for the small parrots. The bottom of the house is covered with sawdust or covered with soft, gentle hay. In a year the pair of parrots can grow three, and even four broods. However, this is too exhausting for the female, so after the second brood grows up, the nesting house is removed for several months.

Nasizhivaet eggs (5-8 eggs), only the female, extremely rarely rising from the masonry. All three weeks (so long incubation) male feeds his girlfriend. He forces the female to return to the abandoned nest, if suddenly she decides not to get warm in time. The nestlings leave the nest a month after birth. For the same amount of time they are fed by parents, and from two months the young can be planted separately.