Glory to the Ekkies
Eclectus Parrot Care Sheet
Written By: Clarice Brough, CAS
Article Location: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/Eclectus/Eclectus.php
Scientific Name
Eclectus roratus
Distribution
The Eclectus parrots are found in the northern parts of Australia, New Guinea, Soloman Island, Maluki Islands, and other outlying Pacific islands of eastern Indonesia. There is only one living species in the Eclectus genus, Eclectus roratus However there have been fossil records discovered found on the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu of a similar species, though with smaller wings, Oceanic Eclectus Parrot Eclectus infectus, which is now extinct.
The Eclectus parrot has evolved into at least 10 subspecies, four of which are available in the pet market. Currently six subspecies are described. Experts have not yet determined it some of the others are true subspecies or possible hybrids. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.
The females in each subspecies appear quite similar, but the males vary widely in their markings. When they were first brought to the United States, many did not see differences in the coloring between the subspecies and so the Eclectus parrot was hybridized while bred in captivity, which has led to variations in coloring.
The four Eclectus subspecies most commonly seen in captivity and available in the pet market are the Grand, the Vosmaeri, the Solomon Island and the Red-sided:
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus roratus, known as the Grand Eclectus
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus vosmaeri, known as the Vosmaeri's Eclectus or Vos Eclectus
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, known as the Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus polychloros, known as the Red-sided Eclectus
The Eclectus are quite plentiful in many of their native areas, and in some places are even considered pests. Yet because of the remote locations some of these birds inhabit, the number of subspecies is undetermined. As with the feathers of many fancy birds, natives for decoration use the bright feathers of the Eclectus.
Status
The Eclectus roratus is on the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species as Least Concern (LC).
Description
Muller first described the Eclectus parrot Eclectus roratus in 1776. They are vividly colored birds with tight interlocking hair like feathers, which produce a sleek glossy plumage that actually looks like silk. They are a large stocky parrot, being 14 to 15 inches in length (35 cm), and have a short square tail and long round tipped wings. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.
What is most striking about the Eclectus is the vivid difference in coloring between the male and female. The Eclectus Parrot is the most sexually dimorphic of all the parrot species. The male is a bright green and the female is a bright red.
Male Eclectus
The male Eclectus is brilliant green on top, has yellowish-green wing coverts, and has red patches on the breast and under the wings. The tail feathers are almost black with yellow tips. The upper beak is a coral yellow with a yellowish tip and the lower mandible is black. The iris is a dark orange.
Female Eclectus
The female Eclectus has a rich red on the head and breast, while the back and wing feathers tend to a darker red. The belly and the nape of the neck are a dull purple to a blue and the tail is tipped with orange. Their beak is black. The iris of the female is a yellow color and they have a blue ring around the eye. (All young Eclectus have brown irises.).
Care and Feeding
In the wild the Eclectus parrots eats seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, leaf buds, blossoms, and nectar. In your home, fresh food and water must be provided daily. Foods for your pet bird will include a ready-made large hook bill seed mix enriched with vitamins. Eclectus must also have their diet supplemented with all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
Fresh fruits and vegetables you can offer include green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, broccoli, unsprayed lettuce, chickweed, dandelions, eggplant, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Fruits that you can offer include apples, peaches, apricots, bananas, pears, plums, raisons, and most other fruits. Avocado and chocolate are considered toxic for birds and sugar and salt should be avoided.
To keep the Eclectus healthy, the fruits and green foods are essential. Dry seed is notably deficient in Vitamin A, which is why they need additions to a seed based diet. Their digestive tract is adapted to a fibrous diet, which is provided by the fruits and vegetables. If deprived of a fibrous diet, they may develop Candidiasis. (see ailments below). Eclectus are also prone to becoming fat, another reason why they should be encouraged to eat more vegetables and less oily seed. A cuttle bone or a calcium block is a good source of calcium.
Most parrots enjoy and occasional shower or bath. A shower can be accomplished with either a hand held shower sprayer or a hose with a fine spray head and lukewarm water. A bath pan or ceramic dish 12"-14" (30-35 cm) can be placed on the bottom of the cage or mounted at about 39" (1m) above the floor in an aviary. The wings should be kept trim if you want to discourage flight and to prevent the loss of your pet through an open window or door. The beak and claws need to be trimmed if they are not worn down from climbing and chewing.
Housing
A cage best suited to adequately house an Eclectus parrot would be between 4 feet to 6 feet (100-150 cm) high and have a floor space of 2 feet by 3 feet (60 x 100 cm). This size will provide room for lots of movement as well as space for perches, food dishes and a variety of playthings. A room to adequately house two Eclectus needs a ceiling height of at least 6 feet (180 cm) and a minimum floor space of 3 feet by 5 feet (100 x 150 cm). Perches should be natural wood ranging in size from 2 – 4 inches in diameter. Various sized fruit tree branches work very well. Playthings can be such things as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.
An outdoor or breeding aviary needs to have a protected shelter that can be heated and cooled if necessary. It should be no smaller than 4 feet by 6 feet with a floor space of at least 3 feet by 3 feet (1 m x 1 m), be off the ground by 4 feet, and have an attached flight cage. The flight should be 79" - 118" (2 - 3 m) long with a perch at each end. A climbing branch and a birdbath are nice additions too.
Maintenance
The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.
Social Behaviors
Eclectus parrots are tamed easily and are very sociable. Some humans feel the male is the more talented, with more talking ability and easier to tame. Females, in the wild are the more aggressive of the two. However, both sexes can become affectionate pets and enjoy human handling.
Handling/Training
You should give a new arrival a few days to get use to you, your voice and its cage before trying to handle it. The Eclectus is a shy creature and they need a period of adjustment. A hand fed baby will not need much taming and can often be handled right away, but be patient and go slow. Allow them to hear your voice, get the scent of you.
Remember that taming and training a bird takes patience; never 'punish' your pet! This only serves to destroy the trust you have spent so much time building. For more information on training your Eclectus, see Parrots: Handling/Training.
Activities
Exercise and play are important activities for the physical well-being and psychological health of your parrot. These activities help deter distress and prevent the problems of screeching and feather picking. Provide your parrot with lots of activities in the form of large link chains, bird ladders, parrot swings, ropes, fresh branches for gnawing and chewing, and rotate new bird toys on a regular basis.
Sexing - Sexual Differences
Sexing Eclectus parrots is simple. The adults and even the chicks are dimorphic, meaning the males are mainly green and the females are red and blue. The biggest challenge is mating members of the same subspecies. There are four subspecies of Eclectus available and they can be difficult to distinguish between. If you are a beginner looking to breed, you should seek the aid of an experienced breeder to help you choose birds of the same subspecies.
Potential Problems
An Eclectus parrot that is well cared for will seldom become ill. Though it is often difficult to determine illness, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are:
- Ruffled plumage
- Listlessness
- Drooping wings
- Sagging body
- Extreme mood changes
- Having no appetite
- Bulges in feathering
- Partially closed or watery eyes
- Swelling of the eyelids
- Rasping
- Difficulty breathing
- Excessive saliva
- Dirty vent
- Any change in the feces not apparently diet related.
Some of the more common illnesses are:
- Psittacosis (chlamydiosis or parrot fever)
- Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections
- Feather picking (results of boredom, poor diet, sexual frustration, lack of bathing)
- Allergies
- Chewing flight and tail feathers by juveniles
- Beak malformations in chicks
- Papillomas
- Kidney disease (gout)
- Toxicity
- Heavy metal poisoning
- Lipomas in older birds.
If you notice any of this bird illnesses in your Eclectus, immediately provide a warm, draft free, secure environment kept at about 86°F (30°C). Place food and water close to the perch where it is easily accessible. An ailing parrot should be taken to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
The fungal disease, Candidiasisis is associated Indonesian parrots including the Eclectus parrot, because these birds need a relatively high amount of Vitamin A. Candidiasis is apparent in the mouth. The bird will play with its food rather than eating it, and you may notice a sticky whitish discharge from the beak. Inside the mouth will be whitish patches of Candida fungus. Your vet can give you medication for this, but you will also need to improve the bird’s diet.
Behavior problems usually stem from something missing in the bird's environment. Boredom, lack of trust, lack of interaction with other birds or people can lead to problems like biting, feather plucking, and screaming. Try to develop a bond of trust and spend time with your bird to help avoid these problems.
Availability
Eclectus parrots have been successfully bred and are readily available, though they are moderately expensive.
Eclectus roratus
Distribution
The Eclectus parrots are found in the northern parts of Australia, New Guinea, Soloman Island, Maluki Islands, and other outlying Pacific islands of eastern Indonesia. There is only one living species in the Eclectus genus, Eclectus roratus However there have been fossil records discovered found on the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu of a similar species, though with smaller wings, Oceanic Eclectus Parrot Eclectus infectus, which is now extinct.
The Eclectus parrot has evolved into at least 10 subspecies, four of which are available in the pet market. Currently six subspecies are described. Experts have not yet determined it some of the others are true subspecies or possible hybrids. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.
The females in each subspecies appear quite similar, but the males vary widely in their markings. When they were first brought to the United States, many did not see differences in the coloring between the subspecies and so the Eclectus parrot was hybridized while bred in captivity, which has led to variations in coloring.
The four Eclectus subspecies most commonly seen in captivity and available in the pet market are the Grand, the Vosmaeri, the Solomon Island and the Red-sided:
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus roratus, known as the Grand Eclectus
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus vosmaeri, known as the Vosmaeri's Eclectus or Vos Eclectus
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, known as the Solomon Island Eclectus Parrot
- Subspecies: Eclectus roratus polychloros, known as the Red-sided Eclectus
The Eclectus are quite plentiful in many of their native areas, and in some places are even considered pests. Yet because of the remote locations some of these birds inhabit, the number of subspecies is undetermined. As with the feathers of many fancy birds, natives for decoration use the bright feathers of the Eclectus.
Status
The Eclectus roratus is on the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species as Least Concern (LC).
Description
Muller first described the Eclectus parrot Eclectus roratus in 1776. They are vividly colored birds with tight interlocking hair like feathers, which produce a sleek glossy plumage that actually looks like silk. They are a large stocky parrot, being 14 to 15 inches in length (35 cm), and have a short square tail and long round tipped wings. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.
What is most striking about the Eclectus is the vivid difference in coloring between the male and female. The Eclectus Parrot is the most sexually dimorphic of all the parrot species. The male is a bright green and the female is a bright red.
Male Eclectus
The male Eclectus is brilliant green on top, has yellowish-green wing coverts, and has red patches on the breast and under the wings. The tail feathers are almost black with yellow tips. The upper beak is a coral yellow with a yellowish tip and the lower mandible is black. The iris is a dark orange.
Female Eclectus
The female Eclectus has a rich red on the head and breast, while the back and wing feathers tend to a darker red. The belly and the nape of the neck are a dull purple to a blue and the tail is tipped with orange. Their beak is black. The iris of the female is a yellow color and they have a blue ring around the eye. (All young Eclectus have brown irises.).
Care and Feeding
In the wild the Eclectus parrots eats seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, leaf buds, blossoms, and nectar. In your home, fresh food and water must be provided daily. Foods for your pet bird will include a ready-made large hook bill seed mix enriched with vitamins. Eclectus must also have their diet supplemented with all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
Fresh fruits and vegetables you can offer include green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, broccoli, unsprayed lettuce, chickweed, dandelions, eggplant, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Fruits that you can offer include apples, peaches, apricots, bananas, pears, plums, raisons, and most other fruits. Avocado and chocolate are considered toxic for birds and sugar and salt should be avoided.
To keep the Eclectus healthy, the fruits and green foods are essential. Dry seed is notably deficient in Vitamin A, which is why they need additions to a seed based diet. Their digestive tract is adapted to a fibrous diet, which is provided by the fruits and vegetables. If deprived of a fibrous diet, they may develop Candidiasis. (see ailments below). Eclectus are also prone to becoming fat, another reason why they should be encouraged to eat more vegetables and less oily seed. A cuttle bone or a calcium block is a good source of calcium.
Most parrots enjoy and occasional shower or bath. A shower can be accomplished with either a hand held shower sprayer or a hose with a fine spray head and lukewarm water. A bath pan or ceramic dish 12"-14" (30-35 cm) can be placed on the bottom of the cage or mounted at about 39" (1m) above the floor in an aviary. The wings should be kept trim if you want to discourage flight and to prevent the loss of your pet through an open window or door. The beak and claws need to be trimmed if they are not worn down from climbing and chewing.
Housing
A cage best suited to adequately house an Eclectus parrot would be between 4 feet to 6 feet (100-150 cm) high and have a floor space of 2 feet by 3 feet (60 x 100 cm). This size will provide room for lots of movement as well as space for perches, food dishes and a variety of playthings. A room to adequately house two Eclectus needs a ceiling height of at least 6 feet (180 cm) and a minimum floor space of 3 feet by 5 feet (100 x 150 cm). Perches should be natural wood ranging in size from 2 – 4 inches in diameter. Various sized fruit tree branches work very well. Playthings can be such things as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.
An outdoor or breeding aviary needs to have a protected shelter that can be heated and cooled if necessary. It should be no smaller than 4 feet by 6 feet with a floor space of at least 3 feet by 3 feet (1 m x 1 m), be off the ground by 4 feet, and have an attached flight cage. The flight should be 79" - 118" (2 - 3 m) long with a perch at each end. A climbing branch and a birdbath are nice additions too.
Maintenance
The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.
Social Behaviors
Eclectus parrots are tamed easily and are very sociable. Some humans feel the male is the more talented, with more talking ability and easier to tame. Females, in the wild are the more aggressive of the two. However, both sexes can become affectionate pets and enjoy human handling.
Handling/Training
You should give a new arrival a few days to get use to you, your voice and its cage before trying to handle it. The Eclectus is a shy creature and they need a period of adjustment. A hand fed baby will not need much taming and can often be handled right away, but be patient and go slow. Allow them to hear your voice, get the scent of you.
Remember that taming and training a bird takes patience; never 'punish' your pet! This only serves to destroy the trust you have spent so much time building. For more information on training your Eclectus, see Parrots: Handling/Training.
Activities
Exercise and play are important activities for the physical well-being and psychological health of your parrot. These activities help deter distress and prevent the problems of screeching and feather picking. Provide your parrot with lots of activities in the form of large link chains, bird ladders, parrot swings, ropes, fresh branches for gnawing and chewing, and rotate new bird toys on a regular basis.
Sexing - Sexual Differences
Sexing Eclectus parrots is simple. The adults and even the chicks are dimorphic, meaning the males are mainly green and the females are red and blue. The biggest challenge is mating members of the same subspecies. There are four subspecies of Eclectus available and they can be difficult to distinguish between. If you are a beginner looking to breed, you should seek the aid of an experienced breeder to help you choose birds of the same subspecies.
Potential Problems
An Eclectus parrot that is well cared for will seldom become ill. Though it is often difficult to determine illness, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are:
- Ruffled plumage
- Listlessness
- Drooping wings
- Sagging body
- Extreme mood changes
- Having no appetite
- Bulges in feathering
- Partially closed or watery eyes
- Swelling of the eyelids
- Rasping
- Difficulty breathing
- Excessive saliva
- Dirty vent
- Any change in the feces not apparently diet related.
Some of the more common illnesses are:
- Psittacosis (chlamydiosis or parrot fever)
- Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections
- Feather picking (results of boredom, poor diet, sexual frustration, lack of bathing)
- Allergies
- Chewing flight and tail feathers by juveniles
- Beak malformations in chicks
- Papillomas
- Kidney disease (gout)
- Toxicity
- Heavy metal poisoning
- Lipomas in older birds.
If you notice any of this bird illnesses in your Eclectus, immediately provide a warm, draft free, secure environment kept at about 86°F (30°C). Place food and water close to the perch where it is easily accessible. An ailing parrot should be taken to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
The fungal disease, Candidiasisis is associated Indonesian parrots including the Eclectus parrot, because these birds need a relatively high amount of Vitamin A. Candidiasis is apparent in the mouth. The bird will play with its food rather than eating it, and you may notice a sticky whitish discharge from the beak. Inside the mouth will be whitish patches of Candida fungus. Your vet can give you medication for this, but you will also need to improve the bird’s diet.
Behavior problems usually stem from something missing in the bird's environment. Boredom, lack of trust, lack of interaction with other birds or people can lead to problems like biting, feather plucking, and screaming. Try to develop a bond of trust and spend time with your bird to help avoid these problems.
Availability
Eclectus parrots have been successfully bred and are readily available, though they are moderately expensive.