Abstract
I n Australia, fig parrots occur in three distinct populations which are confined to the three major tracts of tropical rainforest along the north-eastern coast. Although first discovered more than 130 years ago, these small, elusive parrots have remained somewhat mysterious, due mainly to their unobtrusive habits. In 1929, the noted naturalist, Alec Chisholm wrote "Is there any genus of Australian birds, containing more than one species, so little known as the Lorilets or Fig Parrots?" During the ensuing 70 years we have leaned much about the behavior of these exquisite parrots, but to a large degree the enigmatic aura persists, and this seems to be a consequence not of their rarity, for two populations are quite common, but to the difficulty of observing them. Small green parrots living among the foliage of rainforest trees are easily overlooked.
Although described originally as separate species, the three forms present in Australia now are considered to he subspecies of the polytypic Doubleeyed Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta diopbtbalma, which is widespread throughout New Guinea and the adjacent islands. Jn size and plumage coloration, all three forms resemble the nominate subspecies from New Guinea, which is the form that is held in some aviaries in North America and Europe.
The northernmost subspecies, Marshall's Fig Parrot C. d. marsballi is quit similar to C. d. aruensis from the Aru Islands and southern New Guinea, so presumably is a recent immigrant to Cape York Peninsula.
Conversely, the southernmost subspecies, Coxen's Fig Parrot C. d. coxeni and, to a lesser extent, the Red-browed Fig Parrot C. d. macleayana are approaching the degree of differentiation typical of a species, so obviously have been isolated for a very long time.
Events pertaining to the discovery and naming of all three forms are most intriguing. In 1911, while camped a few miles from the Jardine River on Cape York Peninsula, a prominent collector and fieldworker named William McLennan noted a pair of small "lorikeets" feeding high up in a flowering eucalypt; one was shot, but fell into thick brush and could not be located. McLennan stated that he was sure that
these birds were fig parrots. Nothing further was heard of the presence of fig parrots on Cape York Peninsula for more than 30 years.
In the latter part of 1942, while engaged in military operations near the Lockhart River, Captain A. J. Marshall observed fig parrots feeding in flowering trees on the fringe of rainforest. Three specimens were collected and forwarded to the Australian Museum, in Sydney, where they were examined by Tom Iredale, who noted that the total absence of red from the facial pattern of the female differentiated them from the Red-browed Fig Parrot, and
so he descrihed them as a new species Opopsuta marsballi, in honor of the collector.
At the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, Ernst Mayr compared Iredale's description and drawing of marsballi with specimens of C. d. aruensis from southern New Guinea and declared that he could not find a single difference. He stated that ahsolute identity could not he established until the Cape York Peninsula specimens were compared directly with specimens of aruensis, hut, until a valid distinction was found, birds from Cape York Peninsula would have to be treated as aruensis.
Insects had caused such severe damage to the three specimens of marsballi that they were totally unsuitable for comparison with aruensis specimens, so identification remained unresolved for 20 years.
Despite extensive work carried out on Cape York Peninsula by collectors and field observers, no further sightings were made of Marshall's Fig Parrot, and it was presumed to be very rare.
Then in November 1963, during a brief visit to Iron Range on the Claude River, I rediscovered Australia's smallest parrot when an adult male was seen feeding from the trunk of a small tree growing on the riverbank. This was my most memorable field experience, and Marshall's Fig Parrot has always been a very special bird for me. Specimens collected at Iron Range in 1966 enabled me to make the direct comparison with specimens of aruensis, and marsballi proved to be a valid subspecies. Though its exact range has yet to he determined, Marshall's Fig Parrot is quite plentiful in the Claudie River district, where, on one occasion, I watched more than 200 birds leave a roosting tree.