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Turquoise Parakeet

Neophema pulchella (Shaw, 1792)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella) is a species of parrot in the genus Neophema native to eastern Australia, from south-eastern Queensland, through New South Wales and into north-eastern Victoria. It was described by George Shaw in 1792. A small lightly built parrot at around 20 cm (7.9 in) long and 40 g (1+1⁄2 oz) in weight, it exhibits sexual dimorphism. The male is predominantly green with more yellowish underparts and a bright turquoise blue face. Its wings are predominantly blue with red shoulders. The female is generally duller and paler, with a pale green breast and yellow belly, and lacks the red wing patch. Found in grasslands and open woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus and Callitris trees, the turquoise parrot feeds mainly on grasses and seeds and occasionally flowers, fruit and scale insects. It nests in hollows of gum trees. Much of its habitat has been altered and potential nesting sites lost. Predominantly sedentary, the turquoise parrot can be locally nomadic. Populations appear to be recovering from a crash in the early 20th century.

Wikipedia contributors, Turquoise parrot; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:15:48.316131+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Neophema pulchella (Shaw, 1792)
Name authority
(Shaw, 1792)
Common name
Turquoise Parakeet
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Psittaciformes
Family
Psittaculidae
Genus
Neophema
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderPsittaciformes
  10. familyPsittaculidae
  11. genusNeophema Salvadori, 1891
  12. speciesNeophema pulchella (Shaw, 1792)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Neophema. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Orange-bellied ParakeetNeophema chrysogaster (Latham, 1790)PsittaculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Blue-winged ParrotNeophema chrysostoma (Kuhl, 1820)PsittaculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Elegant ParrotNeophema elegans (Gould, 1837)PsittaculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Rock ParrotNeophema petrophila (Gould, 1841)PsittaculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Scarlet-chested ParakeetNeophema splendida (Gould, 1841)PsittaculidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 155 records assigned to Psittaculidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Psittacus pulchellus Shaw, 1792 Shaw, 1792synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Australia

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177592 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:46Q3Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.