Lord Derby's parakeet, also known as Derbyan parakeet, is a parrot species, which is confined to a small pocket of moist evergreen forest in the hills and mountains of the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and adjoining parts of Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan in China. The species suffers from cutting of old trees and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. In 2011, its status was updated from least concern to near threatened on the IUCN Red List. The adult male and female are easily distinguished because they have different beak colours and slightly different plumage.
Region
Eastern Himalayas and southwestern China
Typical Environment
Found from the hill forests of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India into adjacent parts of Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan in China. It favors mature evergreen and mixed oak–rhododendron forests with large trees and nearby clearings. Birds may use forest edges, river valleys, and cultivated areas where fruiting trees are available. Local movements occur along elevational gradients following food availability, but long-distance migration is not typical.
Altitude Range
1200–3600 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 3/5
Also called the Derbyan parakeet, it inhabits moist montane forests of the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Sexes are easy to tell apart: males have a red bill, while females have an all-black bill, with slight plumage differences. It relies on large, old trees for nesting cavities and is threatened by illegal trapping and habitat loss. Although frequently kept in aviculture, it is not domesticated.
A pair at Wilhelma Zoo, Germany
Juvenile playing with a bolt on a cage in Tibet. Juveniles have dark irises and both the upper and lower mandible are orange-red.
Psittacula derbiana - MHNT
Temperament
social and alert
Flight Pattern
fast, direct flight with rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically seen in pairs or small flocks, gathering at fruiting trees and roosts. Monogamous pairs nest in cavities high in mature trees, often reusing favored sites. Clutch size is small, and both parents attend the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are loud, rolling screeches and harsh contact calls that carry over valleys. At close range they also give softer chattering and nasal notes within flocks.
Plumage
Blue‑grey head with a contrasting black lower face and chin stripe, violet-lilac breast blending to green underparts, and bright green wings with bluish flight feathers. Long green tail with yellowish tip and bluish tones. Subtle pinkish collar at the rear of the neck.
Diet
Feeds mainly on seeds, nuts, fruits, and berries, taking seasonally available items from canopy trees. It also consumes buds, flowers, and occasionally nectar when blossoms are abundant. Foraging is often methodical, with birds manipulating food using the feet and strong bill. In agricultural zones it may visit orchards and crops.
Preferred Environment
Primarily forages in the mid- to upper canopy of mature evergreen and mixed forests. Will also feed along edges, in riverine strips, and in nearby orchards or village trees when fruiting. Uses tall emergent trees as vantage points before moving to feeding sites.
