Animal Diaries Archive

Our beautiful Eclectus Parrots!

29 May 2008

Status – Vulnerable

Be sure to stop by the Rainforest Aviary to check out these gorgeous birds. There are three males and one female to keep your eyes peeled for. These birds can be a bit cheeky at times; they tend to do close up ‘fly-bys’ when it’s busy.

The Eclectus Parrot is one of the few species where the female is prettier than the male. These birds are sexually dimorphic which means you can visually tell the difference between males and females. The female Eclectus parrot is a different in colour, and was once thought to be a different species to the male; they even look different as chicks. A male is a grey ball of fluff where the female is a black ball of fluff. As adults the female is a bright scarlet colour with a blue belly and back and black beak. The male is bright green except for red underneath the wings and an orange beak.

The Eclectus Parrot is only found in one region in Queensland, the McIlwraith ranges of eastern Cape York. They mainly inhabit the interior and edges of lowland rainforest, however they can also be found in the higher rainforest regions.

The Eclectus Parrot prefers to nest in tree hollows high up in the rainforest canopy where she will lay two eggs. The female will guard that nest with her life just incase another female takes over her nest. The males will feed the female by regurging rainforest seeds and fruits.