Eclectus Parrot

This exquisite bird is one of the rare parrots where the male’s and female’s plumage are completely different, in such a way that – for ages – ornithologists believed that they were two different species.

The male’s plumage is mainly green, with a yellow beak, while the female’s is predominantly red, with a blue breast and a grey-black beak.

Originating from New Guinea and the surrounding archipelagos (Bismarck Islands, Moluccas, as far as Sumba), Red-Sided Electus Parrots live in widely differing habitats: forests up to more than 6,000 feet, but also in lowland forests, mangrove swamps and plantations, where they are no favourite of the farmers because of the destruction they cause on harvests.

This parrot is naturally vegetarian, feeding on seeds of every kind, plus fruit and the nectar of flowers.

Usually living in little groups, the Red-Sided Eclectus Parrot nests in holes in large trees. When not in breeding-season, these birds gather in dormitories, sharing the places with other bird species, like the Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo at night. These very common birds are not threatened.