caught birds until recent times that the Red-capped has a reputation as a diffi cult bird to keep in aviculture. These The Red,capped Parrot wild birds often remain high-strung and nervous for their entire life in Purpureicephalus spurius aviaries and will fly in panic when approached by their keeper. As a result, they are difficult to induce to The breed. Australian Red-capped In the Aviary Parrot is By using birds that have been hand monomorphic. raised before returning to the aviary, much better success can be achieved and they can become a relaxed aviary bird and a ready and reliable breeder. Another In North America, where they will have gone through many generations Australian Gem of captive breeding and hand raising, this nervous behavior should not be a by Mike Owen, Sunshine Coast, problem. Queensland, Australia My first introduction to the Red capped was many years ago in a bird park in Southeast Queensland. I was ustralia is known as the to have an underwing stripe. A distinc wandering past a group of aviaries "Land of Parrots" and not tive feature of both sexes is the elon when a cheerful "Hello" came from A without good reason. With gated upper bill. behind some bushes almost hiding the over 50 species ranging from the last aviary on the block. A look behind majestic Black Cockatoos to the rau In the Wild the bushes showed this most amazing cous Sulfur-crested Cockatoo, from the In the wild, the Red-capped Parrot bird. Between displaying and trying to subdued Bourke's Parrot to the beauti is restricted to the Southwest corner of mate with his hen, he kept running ful Scarlet-chested, and from the hum Western Australia where it mainly along the perch to say hello to me and ble little Budgie to the magnificent inhabits Eucalyptus forests and wood to get a quick tickle on the top of the King Parrot, Australia's parrots are lands within 100 km (65 miles) of the head through the wire. All the while, renowI)ed the world over. coast. However it has also found sub his hen waited patiently for him to One of the most colorful and urban gardens, and particularly c Q) unique of our parrots is the Red orchards, in its range to be a rich ~ o Q) • capped Parrot Purpureicephalus source of food. Its main food is the .:.:. ~ spurius, a true kaleidoscope of colors. large seed capsules of Eucalyptus > .Q (J) From the ruby-red head, to the lime trees, especially the Marri, and its large o (5 ~ green cheeks and neck, purple chest, upper beak is well adapted to remove Cl. green back, yellow rump, red under the seed from the capsules. It also is tail coverts, and deep blue wing and known to eat insects and nectar and is tail feathers, it is truly an amazing mix a pest of fruit orchards. of color. Adult birds are normally seen in While not uncommon in Australian pairs or small family groups, but aviaries, it is rare in North America and younger immature birds often form Europe, but the Red-capped is a bird quite large flocks, and are the most well worth trying to add to any collec likely to invade orchards as the fruit is tion of Australian parrots. ripening. It is this destructive behavior The Red-cap, often known as the that has resulted in large numbers of Pileated Parrot outside ofAustralia, is a Red-caps being legally culled each medium sized bird, length about 35 year by orchardists keen to preserve em. (13.65 inches) and weight in the their crops from destruction. 120 to 140 gram range. It is sexually Until recently, large numbers were dimorphic, with the hen being a duller trapped for the avicultural trade in version of the cock, particularly with Australia, but this has now stopped The Red-capped Parrot is one ofthe most the purple chest color. Hens also tend and only culling is presently allowed. colorful ofall parrots. It is rather uncom to have a smaller, rounded head and It is because of this large trade in wild mon in American aviaries.
16 MarchiApril 1999 return to her. one year. Courtship is an entertaining I soon acquired a pair, but, being spectacle to observe unobtrusively. blissfully ignorant of the problems of The male is able to raise the feathers wild Red-caps in an aviary, ended up on the top of his head, and also drops with a pair that almost had a coronary hi wings, fans out his tail, and prances whenever I went near their flight. That along the perch toward his hen, quiet pair never looked remotely like breed ly crooning to her. ing and I soon gave them to someone Four or five eggs are usual, but up with a very large display aviary and to seven may be laid. Incubation is went looking for a quieter pair. about 20 days, with only the hen incu My next pair was much better, still bating and being fed by the cock. The not hand raised but aviary bred and Distribution area of the nest should be disturbed as little as parent reared. They were always ner Australian Red-capped Parrot possible during this period as deser vous but at least not in danger ofdoing tion or egg-destruction may result from mortal damage to themselves whenev but individual pairs vary considerably disturbances. er the flight was being serviced. in their preferences and they may need The babies leave the nest after During their first breeding season in to be given a choice of nest boxes. about five weeks but may continue to the aviary they gave every indication Even a Cockatiel box has been known be fed by the parents for three or four of wanting to breed. They checked to be preferred. Once a pair has select weeks. The babies are erratic flyers ini out the nest boxes; the cock fed the ed a box to use, they will happily con tially and it is wise to place a soft bar hen; they were even seen mating a tinue to use it in successive years. rier such as sacking at the ends of the couple of times. Evidently, though, Sawdust and peat moss form a suit flight to ensure that they do not hurt they still were not settled and nothing able nesting material for the box, and I themselves by flying into the wire. came of it. found it was desirable to put in plenty. It is unusual for a pair to double The next year hopes were high as Part of the stimulus to breeding for a clutch, even if eggs are removed for the birds were relatively calm (but still hen seems to be giving the box a thor incubation or babies are removed for the most nervous in the aviary by a ough working over, and she delights hand rearing. long way) and I had learned more in removing much of the material The young Red-caps are remarkably about their requirements for breeding placed in the box. dull compared to their parents, with a satisfactorily. That year they did indeed predominantly green body that takes lay, in fact they laid five eggs, and I Breeding around 12 months to attain its full eventually ended up with three young Nesting is in the late spring, with potential. birds successfully fledging, and one of most pairs in Australia going to nest in They are an easy bird to hand rear my ambitions was achieved. October or even November. Red-caps and they make a most delightful pet often are able to breed at the age of bird. They are alert, intelligent, playful Aviary Size c In Australia, because of their ner ~ o vous behavior, a relatively large flight, (]) .::t: around 18 by 4 by 8 feet is preferred, ~ ~ o although my own success was (5 .c achieved in a smaller flight of 12 by 3 a. by 6 feet. Ideally, the aviary will have one end (with the breeding box in it) partly closed off to give the birds the privacy they require. Even with calmer, hand-raised birds, a long flight will allow them the exercise that their strong flying ability demands. They can be quite pugnacious and should never be housed with other pairs, nor even adjacent to either those of their own species or members of the Rosella group.
Nestboxes The nest box should be relatively deep, around 90 to 100 cm (approxi mately three feet), and about 20 cm 17Je aviaries ofDamian and Sheryl Dunemann of Yandina, Queensland, Australia (approximately eight inches) across, home to some Red-capped Parrots in aviculture.
the afa WATCHBIRD 17 and the cocks can be quite good talk ers. Parent-raised birds are difficult to tame and inherit some of the nervous ness of the wild bird. They are one species that should be hand reared even if the babies are to return to the aviary for breeding rather than to by Jack C. Eitniear, become pets. San Antonio, TX Their diet is typical of most small to medium Australian parrots. Most In earch ofMexico' Australian aviculturists do not use pel lets, preferring seed based diets, and a Red-cap will do well on a Cockatiel Endangered Bearded Wood,partridge type seed mix with abundant fresh ".... in the highland forest of played a greater role in the species fruit and vegetables also being provid Veracruz [Mexico} there is not a rarer recovery. Hundreds of birds are ed. I use a seed mix of about 50/0 sun bird than the Bearded Wood-partridge' included in one list or another but pri flower, 200/0 canary seed and the Salvin and Godman (1888-1904) ority action is seldom taken until the remainder a mix of millets and pan species is included in one of the IUCN icum seed types. Favored fruits and VeracnJZ, Mexico Action Plans. In 1995 the "Status vegetables include apple, pear, grape, A cool fresh mist coated the moun Survey and Conservation Action Plan corn, celery, kale, capsicum and tainside as we hiked up the narrow for Partridge, Quails, Francolins endive. If you live in an area that has cobblestone path. Giant tree ferns tow- Snowcocks and Guinea fowl" was Australian eucalyptus growing, a feed , ered over the trail. In the distance the published. In order to draft the plan a of fresh seed pods will be especially snow covered mountain peak group of experts gathered for a con appreciated. I also give large amounts "Orizaba" was framed with cottonball servation Assessment Workshop. of sprouted seed leading into and dur like clouds. Rounding a bend in the During the workshop they use the ing the breeding season. trail our local guide Pedro Mota pro Mace-Lande threat categories to priori The Red-capped Parrot is one of duced a long sustained single note tize what actions should be taken with those species that is at peril of becom whistle. Our group, previously talking, the endangered members ofthis group ing endangered in Australian avicul became silent. Pedro repeated the of birds. ture. When the market was flooded by whistle. In the distance a response Ofcourse Mace-Lande categories are very cheap, but very neurotic wild came sounding like a cross between a based upon population theory (consid birds, few bothered to waste their time dog barking and a Guineahen scream. ering; probability ofextinction, effective with them. Most of these birds would The chorus began then stopped as population, sub populations, popula be purchased by inexperienced avicul abruptly as it began. We had just heard tion decline, impact of catastrophe, turists unaware (as I was initially) of the "chorus call" ofthe Bearded Wood habitat change, and impact of commer the problems that these birds have. partridge Dendrortyx barbatus. cial exploitation or introduction ofexot Many birds would die early from Similar to other Mexican birds that ic taxa) so they are only as reliable as stress, while those that survived would inhabit remote places, the woodpar the data being used to draw the con be passed from aviary to aviary, never tridge's status and distribution greatly clusions. When it came to the Bearded getting a chance to settle down. reflects the history of ornithological Woodpartridge the Mace-Lande However, now that the supply of investigation in Mexico. Some of the Conservation status was "critical," the wild birds no longer is available, atten first (and last specimens) of this species highest level of priority for action. What tion is being re-directed to the species, were collected along the lower slopes soon followed would change forever and discerning aviculturists are making of Cofre de Perote, Veracruz in 1893. the way we think about this 13.5 inch an effort to properly establish a reli The bird then seemed to have disap rich brown and cinnamon forest quail, able, quiet stock ofbirds before it com peared from science until 1947. During with a pale gray throat. pletely dies out in our collections. the period of 1940-1970s, ornithological As newly appointed Mexico and I have always regretted selling my expeditions within the wood-partridge's Central American coordinator for the pair, and intend in the near future to range reported that the bird could only World Pheasant Association / Birdlife / acquire some hand-reared birds to do be found to inhabited cloud forest. With Species Survival Commission (IUCN) my part to ensure their continued pres the rapid clearing of cloud forests the Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist ence in Australian aviculture. Bearded Woodpartridge was consid Group, I had two projects to tackle ered at "risk" therefore was included in within the 5-year plan period. They Acknowledgements: the 1992 ICBP/IUCN publication included #4.2.1 "Assessment ofthe con I would like to thank Damian and Sheryl Threatened Birds ofthe Americas. servation status of neotropical quails in Dunemann ofYandina, Queensland, for per Unfortunately listing a species as northern Central America," and #4.2.3 mission to photograph their Red-eapped Par "endangered" does not guarantee "Status and conservation ofthe Bearded rots at short notice to illustrate this article. ~ action. The next document however Wood-partridge in Mexico." 18 MarchiApril 1999