Scientific Name: Psittacula cyanocephala

IUCN Status: Least Concern

A slender bird measuring 34 cm, with a yellow green plumage, embellished with long tailfeathers that are bluish in color and tipped by white extremities. The plum-headed parakeet is classified as being endemic to the Indian subcontinent.

Male: A rose-pink head, with violet-blue lower parts merging with nape and upper back.

Female: A grey-violet head with a yellow collar.

The bird is considered to be quite noisy, with a spectrum of vocalizations. Still, the parakeet makes a distinctive call that can be called a high-pitched “tui”. The bird is known to make habitats out of open woodlands, forests and vegetation in urban centers.

The plum-headed parakeet is known to make rapid flight and has a penchant for twists and turns, that too in quick time. The colorful parakeet forms a home inside wooden cavities laying 4-6 eggs inside the hollow nest. The breeding season for the parakeet is marked as July-August in Sri Lanka.

Source: Common Birds of Sri Lanka, Avibase and E-Bird.