The Superb or Green Leek Parrot is a strikingly elegant, highly social bird who needs constant companionship to feel comfortable. In the wild, Superb Parrots are almost always found in flocks, only sometimes in pairs. The roost in the forest canopy during hot parts of the day and forage both in the canopy and on the ground at dawn and in the evening. Superb Parrots eat grain, seeds, berries, fruits, nuts, flower, nectar and even thistles! When forced to migrate due to harsh weather, Superb Parrots are good distance-fliers and call to each other constantly in a voice much like that of a Cockatiel. While feeding, the flock mutters softly to each other. In captivity, Superb Parrots need a mate or a group of other Superbs in order to be truly at ease. They are very quiet in an aviary and have good dispositions, acclimatizing easily. Superb Parrots are extremely hardy and will thrive on a good basic seed mix supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables like apples and carrots, rosehips and greenfood. At maturity, a Superb Parrot will grow to about 15.5 inches. These Parrots are predominantly green. Males have a slight blue tinge to their napes although their foreheads, cheeks and throats are yellow. A red band adorns the breast of the male Superb Parrot. His primaries have blue outer webbing, and the long, pointed tail has a blackish underside! Male Superb Parrots have green coloration on their upper tails and orange-yellow irises. Female Superb Parrots have duller plumage and lack the male's red and yellow coloration. Their throats are grayish-green and their faces are bluish-green. Unlike the males, they have orange-yellow thighs and pink tipped under-tail feathers! Females Superb Parrots have yellow irises, and both sexes have backward-swept wings, gray feet, reddish-pink bills, and gray periopthalmic rings. Superb Parrots are also known as Barraband Parakeets or Parrots, or Scarlet-breasted Parrots. They are fairly common in Australia's New South Wales and Victoria provinces, and prefer to stay in forests or tree-dotted grasslands near water. They also like eucalyptus stands. Superb Parrots love grain crops and grass seed, so they are not a favorite with farmers. They are, however, adored by aviculturalists and make a lovely addition to aviaries. |