Abstract
M adagascar! An exotic, tropical island that lies off the east coast of Africa, the land of the Lemurs, Baobab trees, all manner of flora and fauna oddities and the Greater Vasa Parrot, Coracopsis vasa. Their scientific name, Coracopsis refers to their supposed resemblance to crows and the word "Vaza" is Malagasy for parrot, in the dialects spoken in the south of the country.
For a better understanding of the uniqueness of the Vasa Parrot, it seems helpful to have a brief picture of the land from which it originates. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. It has a land-mass of over twice the size of the British Isles. Approximately 120 million years ago it was a part of the continents of Africa and India, in the super continent of Gondwanaland, which also included South America. Madagascar broke free from Africa and drifted into the Indian Ocean, thereby very gradually isolating its flora and fauna. There is an actual dent in the coastline of present day Kenya and Tanzania where Madagascar split apart from the mainland. The ensuing isolation of the animals and plants has resulted in the unique and unusual wildlife that are today found only in Madagascar.
About 80 percent of Madagascar's plants and animals are endemic, that is, unique - evolved on the island and existing there and no where else on the earth. There are 258 species of birds of which 53% are endemic. For a mainly tropical country boasting a wide variety of habitats, Madagascar has a remarkably small avian population in stark contrast to Africa's teeming population of colorful birds of all kinds.
The three species of parrots found in Madagascar are all endemic to the Madagascar subregion. All of these
species are very hardy and the Lesser Vasa Parrot, Coracopsis nigra, is considered a pest by the government. C. tasa occurs on Madagascar and the Comoros, C. nigra on Madagascar, the Comoros and Seychelles and Agapornis cana, although originally probably endemic to Madagascar, has been introduced to the Comoros, Seychelles, Rodriguez, and Zanzibar. Only C. v. tasa is distributed in the east. C. v. droubardi, however, is found in the west and south of Madagascar where it occurs in semi dry forests and savannah. Most of the Vasas exported from Madagascar are the western subspecies, drouhardi.
The subspecies of the Lesser Vasa from the Seychelles is highly endangered and populations are declining on the Cormoros Islands. Although people eat Vasas and kill or trap any Vasa that comes near the crops, they are fortunately still abundant in Madagascar.
Vasa parrots inhabit the forests and savannah below 1,000 meters and are more abundant at lower altitudes. Vasas are dependent on the evergreen forests above 300 meters and visit the open country to feed during the day in small groups of up to 10, returning to the forest to roost in much larger groups. In Madagascar they nest during the rainy season during October and November in hollow trees, normally several meters off the ground.
The third parrot species found on this large, rather "parrotless" island, is the Grey-headed Lovebird Agapornis cana, a small, lively, brilliant emerald green bird.
There were very few Vasa parrots in the United States before 1984, when about 800 of them were imported from Madagascar. Because they weren't a strikingly colorful bird, many aviculturists showed little interest in them and no further large Vasa shipments were ever brought in.
Greater Vasa parrots are very unique and fascinating, although their drab nondescript appearance doesn't grab the eye of most aviculturists who look for the color and flash of the more gaudily colored parrots. I notice them described as "Black Parrots" or dark grey, but through my eyes they seen as brown colored. To me, they have a hawk-like appearance due to their proud, regal upright carriage, horn-grey, slightly elongated bill and gentle brown eye color. They are a large bird at 50 cm in length, weighing 500g or more and are well proportioned, having long necks, long straight tails and small heads.
Vasas have only melanin for feather coloration and during breeding season their feathers tum from sooty grey to light chocolate-like brown with a hint of iridescent green when viewed at a certain angle in the sunlight - rather like a piece of worn out mens' suit fabric with a greenish nap showing through the brown. This color shift is due to a chemical change in the oil, secreted from the oil gland used in preening. Vasas have very long limb bones, which give them a hawk-like appearance when they walk. Their prominent ceres are naked of feathers as are their whitish eye rings.
Vasas aren't kept regularly as pets by bird owners and few pairs that are set up as breeders are successful. I attempted breeding them for two years, hut had to find my pair another home in the middle of 40 acres because of their loud, annoying off-key braying, squawking, un-oiled hinge sound vocalizations. I live in a tightly packed neighborhood and was ve1y concerned the caterwauling during the breeding season would jeopardize my quieter species with the neighbors.
The first year I had the Vasas, l mistakenly paired a wild caught older hen with a captive raised three-year old male. She was very domineering with him and guarded the food dish so he couldn't eat. Every day when I put food in the bowl I had to stand there and give her the evil eye to keep her away long enough for him to dine. If I gave them two bowls she would try to guard them both, running quickly from one bowl to the other.