Category Archives: Red-rumped Parrot
Red-rumped Parrots in Merriwa and Denman
Recently, I spent a couple of days in the area around Denman and Merriwa, New South Wales. The bird life there is abundant, with some birds that we don’t see in my area (the eastern coast near Sydney). Among those are Red-rumped Parrots. This is my second sighting of these birds, and this week I was lucky enough to see three groups of them.
My first sighting was in Denman, in the early morning when the lighting was too dim for good photographs. I’ve posted just one photograph, because it’s my only shot of a female Red-rumped Parrot:
In Merriwa, the birds were busy in the middle of the day, when the lighting was much brighter. First, a video of a male bird foraging amongst the grass stalks:
Here’s a still photo of the same male bird:
Red-rumped Parrots get their name from the red patch on their backs, near the base of the tail. This photo shows the red rump nicely:
These little parrots are small and hard to spot when they’re on the ground. Often, all that you see is an eye looking at you:
Common name: Red-rumped Parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus haematonotus
Approximate length: 26-28 cm
Date spotted: 12 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Merriwa, New South Wales, Australia: 32°08’18.7″S 150°20’58.8″E
Red-rumped Parrots in Sydney Olympic Park
Today I saw my first Red-rumped Parrots! These are very pretty little parrots that spend their time foraging on the ground among the flowers or sitting high in the trees. The male is a spectacular turquoise in colour, while the female is a more demure brown and fawn.
This video shows a male and a female walking through the grass and flowers, occasionally popping up their heads to check what’s going on around them:
At times in the video you get a glimpse of the browny-red patch at the base of the male’s back, which gives them the name “red-rumped”.
I saw the parrots in the area around Newington Armory – formerly the Royal Australian Navy Armaments Depot – at Sydney Olympic Park. I was doing the guided bird walk, offered by the BirdLife Discovery Centre. The walk happens on the last Sunday of every month. It’s fun and a good way to get out, meet some people, and see some birds.
Here’s the male Red-rumped parrot:
And this is the female:
The next picture shows the male high in a tree, showing his colourful front:
Common name: Red-rumped Parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus haematonotus
Approximate length: 26-28 cm
Date spotted: 28 August 2022 (winter)
Location: Sydney Olympic Park, Newington, New South Wales, Australia: 33°49’40.4″S 151°03’56.8″E
Sydney Birder 