Layard's parakeet or the emerald-collared parakeet, is a parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard; his first wife, Barbara Anne Calthrop, whom he married in 1845, is commemorated in the specific epithet.
Region
South Asia
Typical Environment
Endemic to Sri Lanka’s wet and intermediate zones, this parakeet is most common in lowland and submontane evergreen forests and forest edges. It readily uses adjacent cultivations, home gardens, and coconut or rubber plantations where large trees remain. It favors mosaic landscapes with tall nesting trees and fruiting resources. In the dry zone it is scarcer and mostly tied to riverine or evergreen patches.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Layard's parakeet, also called the emerald-collared parakeet, is a Sri Lankan endemic that frequents forest edges, plantations, and large gardens. It was named in honor of the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard, while the specific epithet commemorates his wife. Flocks can be quite vocal around fruiting trees and are sometimes locally affected by trapping and habitat loss.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with swift, direct flight
Social Behavior
Usually seen in small flocks or pairs, gathering at fruiting trees and roosting communally. Nests in cavities of mature trees, often reusing natural holes or old woodpecker nests. Pairs maintain close contact calls while foraging and show strong site fidelity in suitable habitat.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are sharp, ringing screeches and chattering calls, especially in flight. At rest it gives softer, repetitive notes used to keep contact within the flock.
Plumage
Bright green overall with a darker emerald collar across the hindneck and a long, slender, bluish-tipped tail. Underparts are slightly paler; wings show darker primaries. Bill is robust and hooked; bare eye-ring is pale.
Diet
Feeds mainly on fruits, berries, figs, and cultivated fruits such as guava and mango. Also takes seeds, buds, and flowers, sometimes visiting plantations for oil palm or coconut. Occasional nectar feeding and consumption of tender leaf shoots are recorded.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the canopy and mid-story of forests and along edges, often commuting to orchards and gardens. Frequently visits fruiting figs and other large, emergent trees and may glean along forest tracks and plantation rows.
