Breeding and Maintenance of the Orange...Breasted Fig Parrot
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species of the Double-eyed Fig Parrot Breeding and Maintenance of the O. d. diophthalma; that was still occa sionally available to local aviculturists. Orange ... breasted Fig Parrot I then sought to find these birds from dealers, but found that they do not Opopsitta g. gulielmiterti have them, mainly due to the rarity and high mortality rates of this partic A Profile of the Species in Captivity ular species of Fig Parrot. Indeed, from my experience, newly collected birds are decidedly delicate and by Lawrence K.G. Kuah the experience can almost be com Singapore pared to the thought of trying to accli matize Pygmy Parrots Micropsitta sp. in captivity. he Orange-breasted Fig Parrot behind byprominent black band and Thus, coupled with stress and infec T has a total of seven recognized below by a greenish-blue band; orange tions with bacteria, in less than sanitary subspecies, of which some five sub ear coverts; breast greenish. conditions provided by the native deal species have been kept in collections. Immatures are similar to the female. ers and trappers, very few birds can be Notably that ofthe five specimens oftwo However, there is a distinct immature expected to survive. I then planned different subspecies exhibited at Loro phase where chicks, on fledging, have two informal expeditions to Salawati and Parque, Tenerife. gray cheeks, slowly acquiring the Sorong in Irian ]aya, Indonesia, and However, as from most accounts ot orange, as they molt into a plumage began the difficult task of trapping and the species, the typical specimens are phase, not unlike that of an adult keeping these birds alive. A total ofnine described to be smaller and lighter in female, and young males takes about two birds was obtained from these two build than that of the closely related, to three years to attain full adult plumage. trips, and these have formed the basis Double-eyed Fig Parrot O. diopthal Various authors have indicated that of my breeding nucleus for this rare and mao This is because all the specimens Orange-breasted Fig Parrots are common exquisite Fig Parrot. described are from the subspecies ama to numerous where they occur, replac After appropriate isolation and quar bilis,fuscifrons, nigrifrons and suavis ing the habitat unoccupied by Double antine at our facility in Singapore, the sima; all ofwhich are smaller and differ eyed Fig Parrots, especially in the birds were initially housed in spacious immensely in coloration to the nominate southern parts of its range in Papua New flights that were planted. This pro gulielmiterti. Indeed, I suspect the Guinea. The distribution and status of duced nearly disastrous results, with two length which Forshaw used for his the nominate gulielmiterti is restricted birds dying within the first week. Finally, description of the nominate subspecies to the western part of Vogelkop, Irian they were accommodated in small lori ofthe Orange-breasted Fig Parrot in his ]aya, near the Indonesian town of keet cages, measuring 150 x 80 x 100 Parrots of the World, is not from Sorong and to the Western Papuan cm high (60 x 32 x 40 in.) with natural gulielmiterti. Island of Salawati. It is the westernmost guava and rambutan branches provid The accurate descriptions for the and most isolated occurring form of the ed for gnawing. various subspecies can be found in species and no other subspecies of This appeared to be the most suitable various articles and publications, such Orange-breasted Fig Parrot occurs with alternative, and the birds were broken as an earlier edition of the LOriJournal in its range. up to form pairs and trios, consisting of International, a Dutch publication, From my personal observations, it is an extra male. They cannot be kept on and in several parrot books written by decidedly local and rather scarce in its a colony system once established, as they celebrated aviculturist Rosemary Low. numbers, with only approximately 30 are quite aggressive and very territori Unfortunately, incomplete or scarce birds found in a single locality. al; observations have shown that, like information pertaining to the nomi I had never seen or heard of the Eclectus Parrots Eclectus roratus, the nate gulielmiterti has usually been Orange-breasted Fig Parrot during my female is dominant and can effective found. The description by Forshaw is starting years in aviculture, until a pair ly prevent weaker birds from obtaining as follows: of the subspecies suavissima was illus any food or drink, and will persecute MALE: General plumage green, trated in the publication ofthe Singapore them relentlessly. paler and more yellOWish on under Avicultural Society. They immediately These birds are most endearing and wing coverts and lower underparts; endeared me to their small size and through careful husbandry of wild forehead, crown and behind eye dark exquisite coloration. caught birds, I have managed to hold blue; lores, throat and sides of head Previously, the genus Opopsitta was a minimum breeding population of 15 paleyellow (or cream-white); variable represented by only th.e nominate sub- pairs of the nominate gulielmiterti. black line on ear coverts (completely absent in some specimens); breast and upperabdomen orange; concealedyel AFA Watchbird advertisers represent some ofthe best in low edging on innermost wing coverts; the business. When you buyfrom these fine sources, be bill grey black; legs greenish grey. sure to tell themyou saw their ad in Watchbird! FEMALE: Cheeks yellow, bordered afa WATCHBIRD 59 Some of the other subspecies are also used once weekly in water, in the form Photo. by Lawrence Kuah kept, but the nominate form is still my of NEKTON S (Nekton Produkte favorite, because of their wonderful Germany) and extra supplements of vit color scheme, larger size and stocky amin K are used in the morning feeds, build. They are slightly longer and larg in the form of NEKTON Q (Nekton er than all Double-eyed Fig Parrots Produkte - Germany). and exhibit much interesting behavior. There have been instances where I These Fig Parrots, together with have observed Double-eyed Fig Parrots Double-eyed Fig Parrots, have been dropping dead from their perches, due observed feeding on seeds of fruiting fig to excessive internal worm infestations. trees, and some other blossoms and fruit Thus, as a precaution, I worm the in their native habitat and, indeed, Orange-breasted Fig Parrots, after they immediately after trapping them, they have become established, using YOME would accept only ripe figs as their SAN tablets for children. The dose source of food. After they were brought repeated after two weeks guarantees that to the dty and then onward to Singapore, eggs and larvae, not destroyed previ they were slowly and somewhat painful ously, are completely eradicated. Their ly converted to a diet of bananas, condition tends to improve and since guavas and apples. This formed the ini they are housed in suspended lorikeet tial diet, but was not satisfactory or cages, there is little risk of re-infestation. adequate to my standards; thus, attempts Nest sites observed in the wild on the were made to "persuade" them to West Papuan Island of Salawati, where accept various mixtures and diets, but some of the birds were obtained per The Female Orange-breasted Fig Parrot has it was found that they refused a total sonally by myself, were on slightly orange ear coverts and a greenish breast which easily distinguishes her.fro1n the decaying trees in deep forest, on the site ly liquid mixture and only partially male, whose entire breast is orange. In this accepted a lumpy mixture consisting of of a broken branch or joint of the tree, species the female is dominant. diced fruit, pound cake and lory mix often obscured by moss and epiphytes. The Orange-breasted Fig Parrot is uncom ture, given in general to all the larger Fig The nest is not very deep but usually at mon in captivity. Although the photo is not Parrots of the genus Psittaculirostris about 40 em (16 in.) down from the nest sharp, you can see the beautiful colors qf while in quarantine. entrance. the species. Then a unique mixture was formu Thus, standard horizontal boxes lated to suit their tastes and dietary were designed for use in these fig par and it is the female here that shows all preferences. It consisted of verY young, rots, and some of the smaller lories. The the threat displays and is very anx sprouted wheat and various millet dimensions are 14 in. x 5-1/2 in. x 3 in iously throwing herself furiously at the seeds, mixed in fresh corn kernels and high and all the captive Orange-breast adjoining bars in an attempt to drive very lightly topped with a thickened mix ed Fig Parrots, whether paired or not, away the intruding arrivals. Mating ture of NEKTON LORI (Nekton Produkte prefer to roost in these boxes at night. occurs frequently, and is performed - Germany). And fresh fruits in season 'The interior is filled with soft peat and with one foot on the perch; the male were provided ad lib, and these usually small grade, red wood bark, which the tacking himself with peculiar movements consisted of ripe guavas, small figs birds enjoy excavating. not unlike those of mating lorikeets. They (available from local trees and import Orange-breasted Fig Parrots do not would mate at any time of the day, even ed specially for them - it is not so show any seasonal preference for breed late at night - in artificial lighting. And palatable to the human taste, as it is thick, ing in our facility, but it seems that these birds, once acclimatized to con sticky, starchy, not so sweet and full of they are stimulated at around the mon ditions in captivity, are so tame that they tiny seeds), bananas, apples and pears.