Abstract
This whole fig parrot project
started in 1985 and '86 when a friend
of mine told me he had acquired from
quarantine some beautiful little birds
called Desmarest's Fig Parrots. After
seeing his pair, I immediately made
arrangements to acquire a sexed pair.
Upon receiving the pair, I had cultures
done and treated them for E.
coli. At the same time they were
going through my 45-day quarantine
of all newly acquired birds. I purchased
two more pairs in 1986.
It is my understanding that there
are basically three subspecies of the
Desmarest's found in captivity: P.d.
desmarestii, P. d. intermedia, and
P.d. occidentalis. I feel it is almost
impossible to differentiate between
P. d. intermedia and P. d. occidentalis.
We can, however, visually identify the
difference between P. d. desmarestii
and the other two subspecies. This
difference shows up as a blue colored
band approximately 118 to 114 inch
wide across the back of the neck.
Technically, this band runs across the
mid-neck area between the nape and
the hind neck and from shoulder to
shoulder.
Not knowing too much about these
birds and their habits, I contacted
Dale Thompson and we decided that
a relatively isolated spot, where the
pair would be undisturbed, would be
best. I constructed a 4 ft. by 4 ft. by
6 ft. flight of 112" x 3" 12 gauge galvanized
wire. The flight is three feet
off the ground and is supported by
2" PVC pipe legs at the corners. One
half of this flight is sheltered with
plywood on top, sides and back.
Perches are at each end and are of
3/4" eucalyptus. A multi-angle
branch is placed in the shelter area;
this branch has many various sized
perches at various angles and goes
from floor to ceiling.