Photo by mehdhalaouate
Biak, Papua, Indonesia, September 2004
- Eclectus roratus
Includes: Moluccan Eclectus, Papuan Eclectus, Sumba Eclectus, Tanimbar Eclectus
Identification
35–42 cm (13¾-16½ in)
Male
- Bright green body
- Blue or red tail and wings
- Orange upper mandible becoming yellow at tip
- Black lower mandible
- Yellow-orange iris
Female
- Red body
- Blue or purple belly
- Black bill
- Yellow-orange iris
Distribution
Eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and surrounding islands, Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.(Australia), and Solomon Islands.
Taxonomy
Subspecies riedeli may be split as "Tanimbar Eclectus", E. riedeli. Subspecies cornelia may be split as "Sumba Eclectus", E. cornelia. Subspecies roratus and vosmaeri may be split as "Moluccan Eclectus", E. roratus. This can leave remaining subspecies (aruensis, biaki, macgillivrayi, polychloros, solomonensis) as "Papuan Eclectus", E. polychloros.
Subspecies
Photo by mehdhalaouate
Numfor, Papua, Indonesia, December 2004
Nine to twelve subspecies are recognized depending on the authority. Ssp. riedeli may be elevated to species status as "Tanimbar Eclectus". [1][2]
- E. r. vosmaeri: "Moluccan Eclectus". Larger islands in northern and central Moluccas
- E. r. roratus: "Moluccan Eclectus". Southern Moluccas (Buru, Seram, Ambon, Saparua and Haruku)
- E. r. cornelia: "Sumba Eclectus". Sumba Island (Lesser Sundas)
- E. r. riedeli: "Tanimbar Eclectus". Tanimbar Islands (Arafura Sea)
- E. r. aruensis: "Papuan Eclectus". Aru Islands (New Guinea)
- E. r. biaki: "Papuan Eclectus". Biak Island (off north-west New Guinea)
- E. r. polychloros: "Papuan Eclectus". New Guinea, adjacent islands and archipelagos
- E. r. solomonensis: "Papuan Eclectus". Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Arch. and Solomon Islands
- E. r. macgillivrayi: "Papuan Eclectus". North-eastern Australia (extreme northern Queensland)
Three subspecies maforensis, pectoralis and westerman are generally considered invalid.
Habitat
Photo by Carole-Anne
Queensland, Australia, April 2005
Lowland forest, from the coast, including mangroves, to mid-montane. They are usually to be seen in the canopy.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of fruits, nuts, blossom, leaf buds, and seeds.
Breeding
They nest in tree holes lined with wood chips. The clutch consists of 2 eggs which are incubated by the female (she is fed by the male) for 28 days. The young fledge about 8 weeks later.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
- Honolulu Zoo
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Eclectus Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eclectus_Parrot
