Breeding of the Blue-rumped Parrot

Abstract

The Blue-rumped Parrot (Psittinus
cyanurus cyanurus) is a small parrot
from southwestern Thailand. It is also
found through Malaysia and on several
of the islands of Indonesia. Psittinus
c. cyanurus is the smallest of the
three known sub-species with an
adult size approximately the same as
some of the larger love birds.
It is quite common throughout its
range. Until quite recently it has been
very rare in captivity, probably due to
an unusually high mortality rate during
importation, the cause of which
has never been explained. In the past
three or four years the shipments of
this species have consisted of young
birds and survival rates have increased
dramatically.
Sexual dimorphism is marked in
mature birds. Males are distinguished
by a pale blue head and red upper
mandible whereas the females' heads
are brown and the upper mandible is
brownish-red in color. This dimorphism
is very similar to that of many of
the Asian parakeets. As a matter of
fact, the behavior and physical attributes
of the Blue-rumped Parrot are
similar to many of the Psittacula parakeets
except for their lack of a long
pointed tail.
My original pair and an extra male
were purchased in tl1e late summer of
1990. The proven hen is on breeding
loan from Ernie Colazzi of Dallas,
Texas. All four birds were placed in
one cage to allow for pairing with the
mates of their choice. The pairs established
themselves very quickly and
they began to fight amongst each
other within a week. The alpha pair
consisted of the oldest hen and oldest
male. They always perched in the
highest space available and they ate
before the second pair was allowed
near the food. After a week, the two
pairs were separated. Fighting was
usually between the females, not the

males. In many cases the dominate
female actually fought off both males
also.
Not knowing a whole lot about this
particular species, I began my breeding
trials by placing both pairs in
cages that were next to each other.
This later proved to be a mistake as
the hens spent several hours a day
fighting through the wire. Cages were
constructed of one inch by one half
inch, 14 gauge wire. Both cages measured
two feet wide by three feet tall by
three feet long. The food was placed
at the front of the cage and the nest
was placed at the rear.
Nest boxes were designed by myself
and built by a friend, Rob Gibson.
They were so1t of an "L" shape with a
4" x 4" entrance box nailed on the
front. This entrance box actually stuck
into the cage with the remainder of
the box extending onto the outside. In
this manner there was an entrance
that was internal and the hen had to
climb through a four inch hallway,
turn right and go down a 12 inch corridor
before reaching the actual nest
quarters at the bottom. I was tJying to
simulate the depth and feel of a hollow
branch rather than that of a tree
trunk. The inside measurements of the
corridors were only six inches by six
inches.
Neither pair showed any interest in
the nest boxes in the first year. They
consumed large quantities of seeds,
fruits, figs, berries and branches cut
from the large ficus trees (Ficus benjiamana)
in the yard. Raw sweet corn
was relished as well as most other
vegetables and fruits. The seeds were
consumed as a second choice.
In November of 1991, the two pairs
were moved to Miami, Florida. The
original cages and nestboxes were
provided once again. Both pairs were
side by side which seemed to stimulate
the males. Singing was noticed in
both the males and, less frequently,

the females.
After a few months in Miami, the
males began to show aggression
towards human intervention. They
never really competed with each
other, only with the feeders or people
that came near the cage. When no one
was around they were content to sit
on their perches and sing to amuse or
stimulate the females. Their song consisted
of three different whistle tones
sung high to low. Their threat posture
was to fly at the front wire, flaring the
tail, lifting the wings, dilating the eyes
and repeating the whistle tones in
a distinct staccato manner. If a pproached,
they would return to the
perch and continue the tail and wing
movements. After a few weeks the
female would retreat to the immediate
interior of the nest and observe the
male's defense posture. This was the
first time the female was seen entering
the nest.
In June of 1992 the rains drenched
the nest box and the interior was
soaked and somewhat muddy. In
early July, when tl1e rains stopped, the
weather turned very hot. At this point
the nest dried out but the nesting
material needed to be changed. On
July 11th, I purchased a new bag of
pine shavings to clean the nests that
had been rain soaked. When I opened
the box on July 12th, an egg was in the
middle of the dirty shavings and the
hen was standing nearby. I made a
decision not to change the nest until
she appeared to be brooding.
On July 14th, the second egg was
laid. The filth in the nest was too
much for me so I changed the nesting
material and replaced the eggs. That
entire day the hen stayed out of the
box and fought through the wire with
the female Blue-rumped in the next
cage. The fighting continued the next
day and I decided that something had
to be done. I moved the second pair
of birds to the other side of the breeding
area where they could not be
seen, only heard. The two eggs were
removed from the nest and placed
under a broody cockatiel. The dirty
nesting shavings were removed and
replaced with fresh pine shavings.
On July 16th the third egg appeared
in the cleaned nest. By this time the
hen had returned to her duties in the
box and in the following four days
laid two more eggs, on July 18th and
20th.

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