Abstract
In 1977 ten Amboina king parrots (Alisterus amboinensis) were acquired through a commercial quarantine station. They were wild-caught birds that came from somewhere in or near Indonesia. There are six subspecies that range from Peleng Island, the Sulu Islands, Indonesia, east through the Moluccas to the western Papuan Islands and western New Guinea. The age of the birds, of course, was completely unknown when they were acquired but they all were in adult plumage.
Although the birds are monomorphic (both sexes look alike) upon close examination I found a slight difference that divided the group of birds in half. The lesser under wing-covert feathers are a deep blue color. The birds' shoulder where the wing attaches is bright red. On half of the birds examined I found a very slight ''bleeding'' of the red color about one half to one inch along the lesser under wing-coverts beginning where the wing attaches. Lou Schumacher, I think it was, suggested this slight difference might distinguish the sexes so the birds were paired up that way.
Nowadays, of course, there are several scientific ways to positively sex monomorphic birds. Subsequent events, however, suggest that this' 'bleeding'' is present on females and not on males but don't bet your breeding success on it.
The birds were paired up and put in their various aviaries. Shortly thereafter I had occasion to move so during the moving and building process various pairs of birds were farmed out thither and yon.
When my own facilities were ready I brought the Amboinas back and put each pair in a 4 x 8 aviary alone. The subject pair appeared to be in good health but in rather poor feather. In any event, they gradually feathered out to perfection and adapted to their new home.
All time considered, this pair of birds was housed together alone for about three years before they bred. During most of the three years the hen stayed in the nest box-sometimes days would pass without a sight of her. Unfortunately, no courtship display has ever been observed although the male would sometimes disappear into the nest box also-sense of propriety and modesty, no doubt. There is no interaction between this pair and the other kings on the property as they are housed in separate banks of aviaries.
In view of the general inactivity of the Amboinas and the fact that the hen lived in the nest box, we gradually forgot about them. They were always the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We fed and watered them according to routine and thought nothing more about it.
Then, on a happy day in August of 1980, my wife was putting some apple in the king's cage and she heard a strange noise from the nest box. She put her ear up to the box and heard the unmistakable sound of a baby parrot begging for food. She quickly informed me and we examined the box. It contained one baby about ten days old and one egg that proved to be clear. The hen alone incubated but the male assisted in the feeding. He would fill up on apple or another treat and immediately disappear into the box.
My wife and I then entered combat regarding handfeeding versus parent birds feeding out their own young. I prefer the parents to feed the chicks, my wife prefers to handfeed the babies after they reach two weeks of age. As usual, I had to beat a hasty but dignified retreat in the face of the wife's heavy artillery consisting of written or spoken opinions from Rosemary Low, Ramon Noegel, Dave West and various other heavy guns in aviculture.
She hand raised the little beast. In Susan's opinion no parrot, not even the cockatiel, is easier to hand feed than the Amboina king. She has used several different diets in handfeeding and there hasn't been a nickles worth of difference. The king diet, though, was rather heavy on fruit. Those of you interested in the precise formula she uses may inquire of us by mail and we'll send you a copy. If your own formula works for other parrots, however, it ought to work for kings also.
Living in Southern California does have its blessings, one being the ease of maintaining outdoor aviaries. This pair of Amboina kings is housed in a bank of nine adjoining aviaries each being eight feet long by four feet wide. The aviaries were constructed by H. Richard Mattice out of steel tube welded into frames. There is a sheltered aisleway with doors opening into the shelter of each aviary. The shelter consists of painted plywood screwed to the steel and comprising half of the total aviary. The other half is an open flight covered with 1/2 x 1 inch welded wire also screwed to the steel frames. The shelters are four
feet by four feet by eight feet high. The flights are also four feet square but only seven feet high. The whole structure is situated on a concrete pad but two inches of decomposed granite covers the cement in each aviary. There are, of course, no plants.
At each end ot the flyway, that is, the near end of the shelter and the far end of the open flight, there is a natural, multibranched perch cut from our stand of large eucalyptus trees. On these perches
the birds can choose the angle and diameter of branch they prefer to use at any given moment. The nest box is hung inside the shelter and is made of plywood.