DID YOU KNOW?
The two Eunymphicus species are the only parakeets with crests.
Size:
33 cm (13 in)
Weight:
140 g (5 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Both adults mainly green plumage offset by yellowish underparts, bluish wings and tail, dark face mask. Six forward-curling black feathers form the crest. Forecrown red. Upper parts light green, paler on rump. Bill blue-grey at base, black towards tip. Eye orange.
Colour Juvenile:
Not recorded.
Call:
Nasal-sounding hoots, shrieks and chuckles.
More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
Birdlife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998.
Research: Spatial ecology and conservation of parrots in New Caledonia
Vanished and Vanishing Parrots, Forshaw, 2017.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Captive Status:
Extremely rare.
Longevity:
—
Housing:
Walk-in aviary, minimum length 4.5 m (13 ft 6 in).
Diet:
Small seed mix such as: canary, oats, safflower and a little hemp; spray millet; limited sunflower seed, dry, soaked or sprouted; sprouted pulses such as mung beans, cooked butterbeans and lentils; boiled maize; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; vegetables such as: carrot, corn, celery, zucchini, squash, green beans and peas in the pod; fruits such as: apple, pear, oranges, bananas, cactus fruits, pomegranate; nuts such as: hazelnuts (lightly cracked), pecans and roasted peanuts; complete pellet.
Enrichment:
Provide overhead misters or shallow bathing bowls, puzzle/foraging toys, swings, ladders, ropes, noise makers and bird-safe chewable wood or vegetable tanned leather toys. Place multiple perches throughout spacious aviary.
Nest Box Size:
Vertical box 8″ x 8″ x 18″ (20.3 cm x 20.3 cm x 45.7 cm).
Clutch Size:
2-4
Fledging Age:
Probably as in E. cornutus: 5 weeks
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
1700 mature individuals, increasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Vulnerable
CITES Listing:
Appendix I
Threat Summary:
Habitat loss (30-50% loss of forest in 30 years) to plantations, illegal local bird trade, damage to nest sites due to bird trade, competition for nest holes by introduced bees, and predation of juveniles by the Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) and perhaps other avian predators.
Range:
Restricted to Ouvéa Island, in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.
Habitat:
Old growth humid forest with kauri Agathis australis pines.
Wild Diet:
Fruits from Ficus sp, Syzygium and Mimusops, canary beech, brush bloodwood and small passionfruit. Also forages for seeds. Cultivated pawpaw (Carica papaya) and other plants taken; Hibiscus tiliaceus bark as well.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Birds are noisy and active, feeding in forest and on crops in adjacent cultivated land. Requires old-growth forest for nest cavities. Occurs where papaya is cultivated.
Clutch and Egg Size:
2-4 eggs, 27.1 x 22.5 mm
Breeding Season:
July-January; nest is in tree hollow.
Related Links:
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