Princess Parrot Feeder
The no-mess Seed Cube sized for a princess parrot, and how to mount it in a flight aviary.
View the feederPrincess Parrot Care and Feeding
Australia's most desert-adapted aviary parrot, and what that means for how you feed it.
Which size suits a princess parrot?
Small or Large? Match your bird's weight and body size to the right Seed Cube.
Check the size guide
Bird first aid guide
What to do first when something goes wrong, and when to call an avian vet.
Open the first aid guide
What to feed a princess parrot
The full diet guide: pellets, vegetables, the right seed, and why sunflower is the wrong one.
Read the diet guide
Polytelis alexandrae
Princess Parrot
Australia's most desert-adapted aviary parrot, built for small hard grass seed
Behavioral Profile
Mess Potential
Moderate to high
Low
High
Vocalization Level
Low
Quiet
Loud
Species Specifications
Size
About 45 cm long, most of it tail
Weight
Around 113 g on average, roughly 90 to 120 g
Feather Type
Soft, sleek contour feathers with very little powder down, so far less feather dust than a cockatoo or a cockatiel
Lifespan
Commonly around 20 years in captivity, with reports of up to 30 years
Temperament
Gentle, quiet and unusually placid for a parrot, but flighty and easily startled
Origins
Native to the arid interior of Australia, across inland Western Australia, the Northern Territory and northern South Australia, in spinifex grassland and desert woodland of marble gum, desert oak and acacia
Suitable Foods
Formulated pellets as the base, fresh vegetables and leafy greens daily, seeding native grasses and safe browse, a small measured serve of millet and small grass seed, and fruit only in modest amounts
Care Level
Beginner to intermediate
Care Notes
Common Feeding Mistakes
The common mistake is feeding a princess parrot from a generic parrot mix led by sunflower and safflower. This is the most desert-adapted parrot in Australian aviculture, and in the wild it eats spinifex, Danthonia and acacia seed, which are small, hard and high in fibre rather than fat. Australian avian vets are clear that no Australian parrot had access to sunflower before European settlement and that a high-fat diet low in vitamins and minerals is behind most physical health problems in pet birds. The second mistake is feeding on the aviary floor. Princess parrots feed on the ground, and a damp dirt-floored aviary is where ground-feeding parrots pick up intestinal worms.
Habitat Requirements
Give a princess parrot length rather than height. They are fast, straight fliers that cover distance in the wild rather than climbing about, so a long flight aviary suits them far better than a tall cage. Keep the floor dry and cleanable, because ground-feeding parrots in damp aviaries carry a much higher worm burden. Use natural perches of mixed thickness and safe native browse, provide shade from hot afternoon sun, and keep them dry in cold wet weather, which is the conditions their desert home never asked them to handle.
Handling & Socialisation
Princess parrots are among the calmest and quietest parrots kept in Australia, which makes them a good aviary bird for people who cannot live with noise. They are not natural cuddlers. Most stay gentle but reserved, and they startle easily, so build trust with slow movement, steady routine and food rewards rather than handling. They are far less destructive than cockatoos, so enrichment is better aimed at foraging than at chewing.