Psittacula himalayana
Silhouette: Farelli (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The slaty-headed parakeet (Psittacula himalayana) is the only psittacid species to exhibit altitudinal migration. The species' range extends from Pakistan, to Western Himalayas in India through Nepal and Bhutan and up to the Eastern Himalayas in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They descend to the valleys in winter, approximately during the last week of October.
Adults of both sexes have green (tinted with blue) feathers on most of their body. It has a dark grey (slate colored) head with a light blue tint where head meets the neck. Males feature dark maroon patches on inner wing coverts. Females do not feature these maroon patches. Males have long central tail feathers which are shorter in female birds. The tail is green at base and becomes deep blue and widely tipped with bright yellow. The parakeet features a bright red-orange upper mandible with a pale yellow lower. It also has a pale yellow eye.
The slaty-headed parakeet has a wide range throughout the Himalayas and surrounding areas. This bird is found is western Bhutan, most of Nepal, and in the following the Indian states; Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-headed Parakeet sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 268th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-headed Parakeet in Chitwan National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Chitwan National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 660 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slaty-headed Parakeet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Slaty-headed Parakeet sightings, Chitwan National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Jim Corbett National Park (India, about 10%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, under 5%).
Same genus: Psittacula
The closest relatives of the Slaty-headed Parakeet that you can see in Chitwan National Park (genus Psittacula, Old World Parakeets) are Rose-ringed Parakeet (about 50%), Plum-headed Parakeet (about 50%) and Alexandrine Parakeet (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Slaty-headed Parakeet is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
