About Cyanoramphus auriceps (Kuhl, 1820)
Description: Yellow-crowned parakeets (Cyanoramphus auriceps) measure 23 cm in length, and have primarily bright green plumage. They have a red band positioned in front of their namesake golden crown. When spread in flight, their wings show a bluish purple color. Their eyes are either orange or red, and their bill is grey. Males of this species are larger than females; females can also be told apart from males by their disproportionately smaller bills. 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. 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. A particularly favored habitat for this species is mixed podocarp/nothofagus forest. 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. Reproduction: Depending on their habitat, these birds build their nests in crevices, burrows, or tree trunks. They lay white eggs.
