AY Honors/Parrots and Cockatoos/Answer Key

Template:Taxobox The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is unusual in the parrot family for its extreme sexual dimorphism. The males of the species are bright green, having bright candy-corn-coloured upper mandibles and black lower mandibles, and blue or red tail and wing feathers; while the females have red heads and blue to purple breasts, with black beaks. Joseph Forshaw, in his book Parrots of the World, noted that the first European ornithologists to see Eclectus Parrots thought they were of two distinct species. Large populations of this parrot exist in Papua New Guinea, where they are sometimes considered pests for eating fruit off trees. Their bright feathers are also used by native tribespeople as decorations.

Taxonomy

Ornithologists usually classify the Eclectus Parrot as a member of tribe Psittaculini in the Psittacidae family of order Psittaciformes. However, some recent thought indicates that there is a great deal of commonality between the Eclectus Parrot and the Loriinae tribe. The Eclectus Parrot is the most sexually dimorphic of all the parrot species. The contrast between the brilliant emerald green plumage of the male and the deep red/purple plumage of the female is so marked that the two birds were, until the early 20th century, considered to be different species.

It is thought that there are Ten subspecies of Eclectus Parrots in the wild, with differences in size, colouring or habitat. Some of the most common subspecies are the Solomon Island, the Vosmaeri, and the Red-Sided.

The following ten Eclectus parrot subspecies have been determined.

• Grand Eclectus (Eclectus roratus roratus)
• Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus solomonensis)
• New Guinea Red-sided Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus polychloros)
• Australian Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi)
• Vosmaer's Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus vosmaeri)
• Aru Island Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus aruensis)
• Westerman's Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus westermani)
• Sumba Island Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus cornelia)
• Tanimba Islands Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus riedeli)
• Biak Island Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus biaki)

Identification of the subspecies is challenging in the female and almost impossible in the male without knowledge of the area of origin or domestic breeding history. Template:Fact

Although the Eclectus Parrot is the only extant species in the genus Eclectus, fossil remains of another species, Eclectus infectus, have been found in archaeological sites in the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu (Steadman 2006). The species presumably existed in Fiji as well. E. infectus had proportionally smaller wings than the Eclectus Parrot. The species went extinct after the arrival of man 3000 years ago, presumably due to human-caused factors (habitat loss, introduced species).

Diet

The diet of the eclectus in the wild consists of mainly fruits, unripe nuts, flower and leaf buds, and some seeds. Two favorite fruits are the pomegranate and the papaya (pawpaw) with seeds. In captivity, they will eat most fruits including mangos, figs, guavas, bananas, any melons, stone fruits (peaches etc), grapes, citrus fruits, pears and apples.

Aviculture

Template:Unreferencedsection Eclectus parrots are one of the more popular birds kept in captivity, as either parent or hand reared. Unlike many other species of parrot they are relatively easy to breed yet difficult to hand feed. Nonetheless the frustration of hand rearing an eclectus parrot can easily be outweighed by their character and companionship if imprinted properly. For Eclectus in captivity, it is also advisable to provide vegetables high in beta-carotene, such as lightly cooked sweet potato, fresh broccoli clumps, and fresh corn on the cob. Fresh greens such as endive or commercial dandelion are a very important in providing calcium and other nutrients. These birds should not be fed avocado, chocolate, or high fat junk foods such as French fries and commercially processed human foods such as pizza. Yogurt is the only dairy product which parrots can digest. Spray millet is one of the seed items they enjoy. A variety of soaked and cooked beans and legumes, along with brown rice, provided in limited amounts help provide protein to the Eclectus diet. Nuts and seeds provide vitamin E, but should be limited in order to avoid too much fat in the diet, as Eclectus can become fat.

One must avoid feeding an Eclectus fortified foods such as pellets, breads, pastas, etc. The Eclectus is sensitive to food additives, food coloring agents and man-made vitamins. Feeding commercial fortified products can lead to muscle spasms known as toe-tapping and wing flipping, as well as allergic reactions including severe itchiness leading to feather and skin damage.

Gallery

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  male and female

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References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

• Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014

• Steadman D. (2006) "A New Species of Extinct Parrot (Psittacidae: Eclectus) from Tonga and Vanuatu, South Pacific." Pacific Science 60(1): 137–145 abstract

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Honolulu Zoo Article on Eclectus Parrots
• Information and photographs of Ecletus Parrots