Abstract
Derivations of scientific names of birds are usually descriptions of plumage; however, among members of the Parrot family are many names which indicate their beauty or pleasing appearance. Examples arepulchel/a for beautiful, as in the Fairy Lorikeet, and magnificus for the Banksian Cockatoo; several have the appellation amabilis, meaning lovely. The curious name Eclectus is derived from eclectic, meaning chosen in the sense of special. It is indeed appropriate for these birds rank high in the estimation of many psittacine enthusiasts.
They have several characteristics which make them ideal subjects for aviculture. Perhaps 1 should qualify that by saying for the aviculturist who is prepared to devote a
little extra time to them.
Eclectus are unusual birds in many ways. The most notable feature of their appearance is the striking sexual dimorphism. In no other species of parrot is it so marked. In practical terms to the aviculturist, this is of great benefit. There can be no mistaking the predominantly red female for the green male, a distinction which is apparent as soon as their feathers start to appear at the age of three and one half to four weeks.
Another unusual feature is the formation of its feathers which in some areas of the plumage, notably the head, produces an effect which is more like fur than feather. This, too, is unique among parrots.
One perplexing aspect of their appearance is that while the various subspecies (there is only one species) are readily identifiable in the female, they are impossible to distinguish in the male. The chance of pairing together a male and female of the same race is therefore slender, as ten or more races are recognized. Size varies from approximately 13-15" (34-38 cm); therefore, if possible, male and female should be reasonably well matched for size.
While it is true that males do vary in their plumage, in the shade of green and the extent of the yellow tip to the tail, the variation is slight compared with that found in the female. The females can be divided into two groups. The first comprises those with a narrow ring of blue feathers surrounding the eye: the Red-sided Eclectus Eclectus roratus polych/oros from New Guinea and the western Papuan Islands; the larger E.r. macgillivrayi from the Cape York Peninsula of Australia, and the smaller Solomon Island Eclectus E.r.solonomensis.
The second group consists of those which lack the blue feathered ring around the eye and have yellow or partly yellow under tail coverts. I find birds of this group more beautiful for, contrasting with the yellow on the tail, their red plumage is even more startling. The race vosmaeri is especially pleasing with its broad band of yellow at the tip of the tail, yellow under tail coverts and mauve lower breast, abdomen and upper mantle. The upper parts are dark red with the primaries and the bend of the wing dark mauvish-blue. The head is bright red. Underside of the tail is dusky orange. The bill is jet black and the iris is yellow. This race comes from the islands of the Moluccas and is one of the best known.
Eclectus are distributed throughout a number of Indonesian islands, New Guinea and, in Australia, are found only in a small area of the tropical northern tip of Cape Yerk.
As we cannot distinguish the male's subspecies with certainty, what happens when, in captivity, he is paired with a female of a different subspecies? Will their offspring resemble the mother? This is usually the case, although there can be slight differences in the plumage, just as in any other parrot. For example, in two females reared in the same nest by my pair, one had the area which can most easily be described as the "armpit" orange while in the other it was dull red as in her mother. I have not heard of a female being produced which quite obviously resembled a different subspecies to its mother and wonder
whether this could occur.
As to the males, all those produced by my pair (ten, to date) have exactly resembled their father.
Eclectus are among the easier of the large parrots to breed in captivity; unfortunately, imported birds are among the most difficult parrots to establish. Losses are so high that I would welcome an embargo on their importation. This would have little or no effect on aviculturists because there are many pairs in collections, a good proportion of which are rearing young. As it happens, the introduction of compulsory quarantine in many countries has greatly reduced the trade in these birds, as few importers are prepared to take the risks involved in their importation.
Until the late 1960s, Eclectus were rare in captivity. When export from Indonesia commenced in early 1968 I obtained a male from a London dealer. I was fortunate in my choice of a healthy bird which thrived. Importers of Eclectus are well aware of the fact that even a bird which is not emaciated can be apparently well one minute and dead the next. It is for this reason that aviary-bred birds (provided, of course, that they have been raised by a breeder who realizes the importance of sound nutrition) are a much sounder pro-
position than imported ones.
The avicultural potential of this species has apparently not yet been fully realized. Here we have a parrot of very great beauty for which there is always a demand. Unlike the females of many large parrots, they are very willing to lay eggs in a cage - thus in an aviary there is usually no stopping them. There can be no excuse for our generation of aviculturists failing to create aviary-bred strains of these magnificent parrots. Losses of newly imported birds are unacceptably high and this reason alone should be enough to encourage aviculturists to be self-sufficient where Eclectus are concerned.
There are several reasons for these losses. One is the need of Eclectus for a high level of Vitamin A in the diet. While some parrots can remain healthy on a diet which consists mainly of seed, few Eclectus will survive long on an inadequate diet. They need large quantities of fresh vegetables, especially carrot and corn to supply Vitamin A. Celery, tomato, cheese, meat and fruit should also be offered.
On autopsying Eclectus, the author and veterinarian George Smith was surprised by the extreme length of the bowel, suggestive of the fact that the natural diet of these birds included vegetable matter which needs extra digestion. I would em-
phasis the fact that these birds require a diet whose proportion of fresh vegetables and fruits to seed is a least 50:50. Unlike most parrots, most of my Eclectus prefer white millet, spray millet and canary seed to sunflower. They will also eat pine nuts and peanuts.
A deficiency of Vitamin A sometimes results in a swelling in the mouth which is painful, thus the bird ceases to eat. If this occurs, it should be taken immediately to a veterinarian. An injection of chloromphenicol directly into the swelling will usually clear up the problem, provided that it has been noticed in time.
A major reason of death among newly imported birds is stress, especially of males when they are closely confined with a female. To understand the reason for this, one needs to know something about the two types of pair bond which exist in parrots. In most species, including lories, cockatoos, Amazons, macaws, and conures, the pair bond is maintained permanently. Birds in this group indulge in much mutual preening and are usually extremely affectionate, even when "pairs" actually consist of two birds of the same sex.
In some species outside this group which exhibits such affectionate behavior, the female is dominant over the male, who
courts the female during the breeding season and has little or no physical contact with her, such as mutual preening, at other times of the year. The Ringneck Parrakeet and other members of the genus Psittacula fall into this category, as does the Eclectus.
Except when in breeding condition the male may be very much afraid of the female. Therefore, to closely confine him with one causes an unacceptable level of stress which can result in his death.
This can also occur when a male and a female are introduced in an aviary. The female, being dominant, keeps the male away from the food, thus it is imperative to place food at both ends of the aviary. It may also be necessary to resort to this procedure when young leave the nest and the female again becomes dominant over and aggressive towards the male. Her aggression may extend to the young; if this is the case she must be removed until the young are self-supporting.
Some pairs of Eclectus are excellent breeders and prove very prolific. Others never produce young and the reason may be that the male cannot overcome his fear of the female, thus mating never occurs. Another posssible reason is that the female is so keen to lay she will spend very long periods in the nest, seldom being seen for months at a time and not seeking contact with the male.
How can this problem be overcome?
Compatible pairs are more likely to be formed if a male and female (from different parents) are placed together in the year in which they were hatched. It is most unlikely that the male will be afraid of a young female with whom he grows up.
All the young hatched by my pair have been reared by them with the exception of two females hatched during mid-winter which were not fed during bitterly cold weather. They were thus removed for hand-rearing when aged six weeks. When the eldest female was nine weeks old she was introduced to an adult male for a few minutes. This bird had proved useless for breeding as it would not mate with the female. However, on being introduced to the very young female he fed her at once - then had to be removed because it was courtship which he had in mind! The reason was clear: at that age the female was not aggressive enough to arouse his fear, thus he was quite willing to mate with her.
While most parrots are single- or double-brooded and stop laying in order to moult, this is not true ofEclectus. Hens are multi-brooded and simply moult while incubating. It may even be necessary to remove the nest-box so that the female can have a well-earned rest from domestic duties.