Golden-shouldered Parrot

Fascinating facts about the Golden-shouldered Parrot

• At just under a foot long (25–27 cm) and weighing barely two ounces (54–56 g), the golden-shouldered parrot is about the size of a sparrow but flashes a splash of gold on its shoulders, a visual cue that sets it apart in the dense Cape York grasslands.
• Instead of building nests in trees, these parrots tunnel 2–13.8 inches (50–350 mm) into conical termite mounds, where the insects’ natural air-conditioning keeps the chamber at a steady 28–30 °C (82–86 °F), a temperature range that can still swing between 13 and 35 °C depending on the season.
• From March through August the birds lay 3–6 eggs, which the female incubates for exactly 20 days; intriguingly, from the tenth day after hatching the parents leave the eggs uncovered at night, a behavior linked to the mound’s temperature dynamics.
• Surveys count only 700–1,100 individuals in the wild, with about 300 breeding pairs, prompting a focused effort on Artemis Station where roughly 60 ha of habitat were cleared between July 2021 and December 2022, a move that already shows higher nest success where restoration took place.
• Around half of all nests host the ant-bed parrot moth (Trisyntopa scatophaga); the moth’s larvae eat nestling droppings, keeping the chamber clean, a subtle partnership that may give the birds a cleaner environment during the critical early weeks.

At a glance

About the Golden-shouldered Parrot

The golden-shouldered parrot (Psephotellus chrysopterygius) is a strikingly coloured bird of the southern Cape York Peninsula, measuring 25–27 cm in length and weighing 54–56 g. The adult male dazzles with a vivid blue plumage, a black cap, and a bold yellow shoulder patch that gives the species its name, while his lower belly, thighs and undertail-coverts blaze in dark salmon-pink. Females are more subdued, cloaked in dull greenish-yellow with a broad cream bar on the wing underside and, in older birds, a charcoal-grey cap. Juveniles resemble females, though fledgling males already display a brighter blue cheek patch. These parrots inhabit open forested grasslands dotted with termite mounds every few metres, relying on the mounds both as nesting sites and as a keystone of their ecosystem. Their diet centers on the tiny seeds of firegrass (Schizachyrium fragile) and other small grasses, especially in the months preceding the wet season, making the presence of abundant grass and open understory essential. A surprising trait is their symbiotic relationship with the ant-bed moth Trisyntopa scatophaga: the moth deposits eggs in freshly dug nest tunnels, and its larvae consume the nestlings’ faeces, helping keep the chamber clean, a partnership found in roughly half of all nests.

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