Just recently I had the opportunity to see these stunning Bourke’s Parrots engage in nuptial feeding.
It was about half way between Tibooburra and Cameron Corner in the far north-west of NSW. Yes, it is a real effort to get there but worth it if you can catch these beauties. Bourke’s Parrots are so gentle and their colours are so delicate, and they generally inhabit these dry arid and remote landscapes.
Bourke’s parrots (Neopsephotus bourkii) are probably named after General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell first spotted the species in New South Wales in 1835.
What was most delightful was watching these lovely parrots engage in nuptial feeding. Nuptial feeding (also called courtship feeding) where a male parrot regurgitates food directly into the bill of his female partner during courtship, mating, or the nesting season.
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