The animal on the cover of Think Python is a plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala), a vibrant bird native to the Indian subcontinent.
This medium-sized parrot is known for the male’s dazzling plum-colored head, while females have a grayish-blue head, with both sexes with different shades of green on their chest, belly, wings, and back. Their long tails are a cool bluish-green tipped with white, adding a touch of elegance. As seen in the cover image, males have a black chin stripe and a narrow black band around their neck, bordered by a vibrant turquoise, with a distinctive red shoulder patch. Females lack these markings and often have a yellow collar instead.
These social birds flit through well-wooded areas in large flocks, their flight patterns a flurry of twists and turns accompanied by high-pitched calls. They are also acrobatic climbers, adept at navigating branches and using their strong beaks to explore nooks and crannies for food; their diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds, and blossoms.
The plum-headed parakeet’s population is considered Least Concern by the IUCN but with a decreasing trend, highlighting the need for conservation efforts. Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world.
The color illustration is by Karen Montgomery, based on an antique line engraving from a loose plate, source unknown. The series design is by Edie Freedman, Ellie Volckhausen, and Karen Montgomery. The cover fonts are Gilroy Semibold and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.