Parrots
The many Parrot species found around Australia represent some of the most beautiful birds in the land. In addition to their visual splendour, many also have a pure bell-like call. Some, it should be added, have a raucous squawk instead.
We were often fortunate in Canberra to see King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas and Eastern Rosellas flying from tree to tree, wild and beautiful. We were vaguely aware that there were other Parrot species to be found across Australia, but knew them only from books or cages. One of the great pleasures of our travels has been to discover new species (at least for us) in the wild.
Some of the photos are a little blurry, due to the flighty nature of these birds and the speed at which they move from tree to tree. We hope in time to add better images to the gallery, as well as additional species.
The most exhilarating encounter we have had with Parrots during our travels took place one morning in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, were we had camped overnight beside a riverbed. Over the course of around half an hour, we witnessed tens of thousands of Budgerigars fly past, as they travelled along the river-bed to pools of water. Wave after wave of these coluful little birds flew past. We were astounded by the roar of their massed wings, and the din of their screaching. Each flock contained hundreds of birds, and we lost count of the number of flocks that flew by. As luck would have it, our camera had broken down the previous evening so all we have of the encounter are the memories.
We have a confession to make: all the following photos were taken in the wild, except for those of the Princess Parrot and the Scarlet Breasted Parrot, which were taken respectively in the Alice Springs Desert Park, and the Rainbow Jungle of Kalbarri WA, in their large walk-through aviaries.
For space reasons, the members of the various Cockatoo species will be included in a separate post.
