About Cyanoramphus auriceps (Kuhl, 1820)
Size and Base Plumage
Description: Yellow-crowned parakeets (Cyanoramphus auriceps) measure 23 cm in length, and have primarily bright green plumage.
Crown Markings
They have a red band positioned in front of their namesake golden crown.
Flight Wing Color
When spread in flight, their wings show a bluish purple color.
Soft Part Coloration
Their eyes are either orange or red, and their bill is grey.
Sexual Dimorphism
Males of this species are larger than females; females can also be told apart from males by their disproportionately smaller bills.
Geographic Range
Range and habitat: This species is endemic to New Zealand, found across the country's main islands as well as Ewing Island in the Auckland Islands. This Ewing Island population is the southernmost observed location of any Cyanoramphus species, and the second-southernmost location of any living parrot species.
General Habitat Preferences
Yellow-crowned parakeets prefer the upper canopies of tall, unbroken forest and scrub. They have also been observed in high-altitude tussock meadows and on some subantarctic islands.
Favored Forest Habitat
A particularly favored habitat for this species is mixed podocarp/nothofagus forest.
Canopy Preference Benefit
Its preference for upper canopies may have given it an advantage over the red-crowned parakeet, by likely reducing its risk of exposure to predators.
Nesting Site Selection
Reproduction: Depending on their habitat, these birds build their nests in crevices, burrows, or tree trunks.
Egg Appearance
They lay white eggs.
