Australia's Parrots

A pair ofMarshall's Fig Parrots C. d. marshal­ Ii} the northernmost ofthe Australian sub­ species, feeds on figs at Iron Range National Park, on Cape York Peninsula.

Australia's • 19 Photograph by Len Robinson

Parrots Although described originally as these hirds were fig parrots. Nothing Part 1. separate species, the three forms pre­ further was heard of the presence of The Fascinating History of Discovery sent in Australia now are considered to fig parrots on Cape York Peninsula for he subspecies ofthe polytypic Double­ more than 30 years. by Joseph M. Forshaw eyed Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthal­ In the latter part of 1942, while Wauchope, Australia rna, which is widespread throughout engaged in ITIilitary operations near the New Guinea and the adjacent islands. Lockhart River, Captain A. J. Marshall Artwork by Peter Slater In size and plumage coloration, all ohserved fig parrots feeding in flower­ Photographs by three forms resemble the nominate ing trees on the fringe of rainforest. Cyril Laubscher and Len Robinson subspecies from Nevv Guinea, which is Three specimens were collected and the forn1 that is held in some aviaries forwarded to the Australian Museum, in North America and Europe. in Sydney, where they were examined n Australia, fig parrots occur in The northernmost suhspecies, hy Tom Iredale, who noted that the three distinct populations which Marshall's Fig Parrot C. d. marshalli is total absence of red from the facial pat­ I are confined to the three major quit similar to C. d. aruensis from the tern of the female differentiated them tracts of tropical rainforest along the AIU Islands and southern New Guinea, from the Red-browed Fig Parrot, and north-eastern coast. Although first dis­ so presumably is a recent immigrant to covered more than 130 years ago, Cape York Peninsula. these small, elusive parrots have Conversely, the southernmost sub­ remained somewhat mysterious, due species, Coxen's Fig Parrot C. d. coxeni mainly to their unobtrusive habits. In and, to a lesser extent, the Red-browed 1929, the noted naturalist, Alec Fig Parrot C. d. macleayana are Chisholm wrote "Is there any genus of approaching the degree of differentia­ Australian birds, containing more than tion typical of a species, so ohviously one species, so little known as the have been isolated for a very long time. Lorilets or Fig Parrots?" During the Events pertaining to the discovery ensuing 70 years we have leaned and naming of all three forms are ITIOSt much about the behavior of these intriguing. In 1911, while camped a exqui ite parrots, but to a large degree few miles from the Jardine River on the enigmatic aura persists, and this Cape York Peninsula, a prominent col­ seems to be a consequence not oftheir lector and fieldworker named William rarity, for two populations are quite McLennan noted a pair of small "lori­ Distribution of the Double-eyed Fig Parrot common, but to the difficulty of keets" feeding high up in a flowering Cyclopsitta diophthalma in Australia. 1. observing them. Small green parrots eucalypt; one was shot, but fell into Marshall's Fig Parrot C. d. marshalli; 2. Red­ living among the foliage of rainforest thick brush and could not be located. browed Fig Parrot C. d. macleayana; 3. trees are easily overlooked. McLennan stated that he was sure that Coxen's Fig Parrot C. d. coxeni.

46 January/February 1999 so he described them as a new species at the Mu 'eum in Melbourne, andJohn fruit pigeon feeding in fig trees but Opopsitta marshalli, in honor of Gould in London. There followed a mo 't of the e forests had since been the collector. less than dignified scramble by the e cleared. At the American Mu eum of atural three en1inent cholar to be the first to Very few of the museum specimens History, in New York Ernst Mayr de crib and name thi 'n w fig parrot. of Coxen's Fig Parrot were collected compared Iredale's description and Pre ulnahly because of his reputa­ after 1901, and Sighting have been drawing of marshalli with specin1 ns tion, Gould won recognition and gen­ reported only at irregular intervals. My of C. d. aruensis from southern New eral ace ptance was given to his ole encounter was in October 1955, Guinea and declared that he could not Cyclopsitta maccoyi, named ironically when a brief glimpse was obtained of find a single difference. He tated that in honor of McCoy. However, it a ' three hirds in flight. Between 1977 and absolute identity could not he estab­ realized 'ubsequently that McCoy" 1981 hen field records were com­ li hed until the Cape York Peninsula nall1e of Cyclopsitta leadbeaten' had piled for the Atla of Au tralian Birds, pecimens were compared directly been publi hed one month earlier than there were no reports of Coxen's Fig with specimen of aruensis, hut, until Gould's description so it became the Parrot, so thi southernlno t subspecies a valid distinction was found, bird accepted name. a considered to be extremely rare. from Cape York Peninsula would Then in 1929, Alec Chisholm found In 1996, 01uch excitement was gen­ have to be treated as aruensis. the description published by Rall1say erated by a report from the natural­ Insects had caused such severe in the Sydney Morning Herald dated 5 i 't/photographer John Young that he damage to the three pecimens of ovember 1874, n10re than ix had found nesting fig parrot in the marshalli that they were totally un 'uit­ months before the de criptions of Ha 'ting' River alley, on the north able for comparison ~Tith a17Aen is Gould and McCoy. For orne time specimen', so identification remained d bate continued about the validity of Photograph by Cyril Laubscher unresolved for 20 years. a scientific description published in a Despite extensive work carried out ne spaper, but eventually Ramsay" on Cape York P nin ~ula by collector' name of Cyclopsitta macleayana a and field ob 'ervers, no furth right­ adopted and remain in use today. We ings w re ll1ade of Marshall's Fig tru t that ther are no other names Parrot, and it was pre 'umed to b ly waiting to be resurrect d. rare. It is in keeping with the fascinating Th n in ovelnb r 1963, during a hi tory of fig parrots in Australia, that brief visit to Iron Range on the Claude the form first discovered rell1ains the River, I redisc vered Australia's slnall­ least known and after more than 130 est parrot when an adult 111ale a,' years its nest and eggs are yet to be seen feeding from the trunk of a sll1all described. Gould de cribed Coxen's tree growing on th riverbank. Thi' Fig Parrot C. d. coxeni in 1867, and wa ' my most mell10rable field experi­ nall1ed it after Charle' Coxen, hi ence, and Mar 'hall s Fig Parrot ha' brother-in-law who lived in Brisban always been a very special hird for 111e. and sent to Gould drawings ll1ade SpeCiIl1enS collected at Iron Range in from two specimens obtained by Eli 1966 enahled me to make the direct Waller, a Brisbane bird dealer. Waller compari on with specimens of al uen­ obtained the specimens in June 1866 sis and lnarshalli prov d to be a valid froln a logger- ho had 'hot several subspecies. Though its exact range has birds fro01 a flock seen in mountain yet to he det nl1ined, Marshall's Fig fore t near his calnp, about 30 miles Parrot is quit plentiful in the Claudie from Bri 'bane; three or four specitnen ' River district, here, on on occasion were pre erved, but the relnainder I watched I110r than 200 birds I ave a were cooked in a pudding! roosting tree. By the turn of the century, land­ No less interesting are events lead­ cl arance for agriculture had already ing to the fonnal naIl1ing of the best­ reduced greatly the rainfore 't in the known of the Australian fig parrots ­ range of Coxen's Fig Parrot, and fears the Red-hrow d Fig Parrot froll1 n011h re being expres 'ed about future Queensland. In 1874, specill1ens of a survival of the birds. Writing in the new fig parrot were collected hy Queensland Naturalist of November Adult nlale Red-brou ed Fig Parrot Kendall Broadbent in forests near 1924, R. Illidge recalled his field expe­ Cyclopsitta diopthalma macleayana; this 'ubspecies Cardwell, on the north Queensland riences of 40 years earlier in 010untain takes its llatne franl the protnillellt red spot on the centralforehead Here it dis­ coast, and imlnediately he contact d forests in south-eastern Queensland, plays the prolninent orange-red lnarking Dr. E. Ram ay at the Australian where pairs or small parties ofthese fig on the inner tertial - a diagnostic fea- Museull1 in Sydney, Professor F. McCoy parrots often were encountered with ture ofthe.fig parrots.

til ~lra '\' TCHBIRD 4 Facial coloration in Coxen's Fig Parrot C. d. coxeni. From left to right: heads of n1,useum Artwork by Peter Slater, with kind permission from S. Elmer specimens showing the gradual acquisition of red from the ear-coverts (fig. 1) to the cheeks (figs. 2 and 3), and the head ofa presumed adult as depicted by Elmer (fig. 4). coast of New South Wales, and well to new species being discovered. The inadequate knowledge of Australia's the south ofthe assumed southern lim­ birds seen at the nest were more rich­ fig parrots more than 130 years after its to the range of coxeni. Furthermore, ly colored, with entirely red cheeks their discovery! ~ he stated that these birds were quite and bright blue forecrowns, prompting In Part 2, we shall look at these fa .. cinat­ different from museum specimens, Young to suggest that they were the ing parrots in the wild and in aviaries. and this gave rise to rumors about a previously unknown adults of coxeni, Also printed iu Cage (,Iud Aviwy Bird'i, UK. and all of the 55 or more museum specimens are juvenile or subadult Photograph by Cyril Laubscher birds. What an astounding proposition, Photograph by Cyril Laubscher but it could be true. A painting ofCoxen's Fig Parrot pre­ pared by Queensland artist Sally Elmer from information supplied by John Young, has just been published, and this prompted me to re-examine muse­ U1TI specimens. I found evidence sup­ porting the claim that the specimens may not be adults. In the accompany­ ing drawing, Peter Slater has depicted the heads of three specimens from the Australian Museum (figs. 1, 2 and 3) together with the head of the pre­ sumed adult as shown in Elmer's paint­ ing (fig. 4). In fig. 1, red is restricted to the ear-coverts and the cheeks are wholly green, features which are pre- u01ed to indicate juvenile plumage. In figs. 2 and 3, there is a gradual acquisi­ tion of red on the cheeks, but no spec­ imen shows the hright hlue forecro,:"n that is a key feature in the facial pattern of the presumed adult (fig. 4). It seems that we may have waited 130 years to find out what an adult Coxen's Fig Parrot looks like. Juveniles of both marshalli and macleayana resemble the adult females, so if further investigations An adult male Double-eyed Fig Parrot confirm that juveniles of coxeni differ Brownish-buffinstead ofred cheeks dis­ Cyclopsitta diopthalma diopL1alma ofthe nominate from adults of both sexes, further con­ tingUishes the juvenile and adultfemale subspecies from New Guinea; th.is sub­ sideration must be given to treating Double-eyed Fig Parrot) and this same species is held by some aviculturists in the Coxen's Fig Parrot as a separate feature differentiates the sexes in most, UK, Europe, and North America, and is but not all subspecies. similar in appearance to the Australian species. Surely there could not be subspecies. more startling proof of our grossly

4·8 January/February 1999