Abstract
The Orange-breasted Fig Parrot has a total of seven recognized subspecies, of which some five subspecies have been kept in collections. Notably that of the five specimens of two different subspecies exhibited at Loro Parque, Tenerife.
However, as from most accounts ot the species, the typical specimens are described to be smaller and lighter in build than that of the closely related, Double-eyed Fig Parrot 0. dioptbalma. This is because all the specimens described are from the subspecies amabilis, fuscifrons, nigrifrons and suavissima, all of which are smaller and differ immensely in coloration to the nominate gulielmiterti. Indeed, I suspect the length which Forshaw used for his description of the nominate subspecies of the Orange-breasted Fig Parrot in his Parrots of the World, is not from gulielmiterti.
The accurate descriptions for the various subspecies can be found in various articles and publications, such as an earlier edition of the Lori journal International, a Dutch publication, and in several parrot books written by celebrated aviculturist Rosemary Low. Unfortunately, incomplete or scarce information pertaining to the nominate gulielmiterti has usually been found. The description by Forshaw is as follows:
MALE: General plumage green, paler and more yellowish on underwing coverts and lower underparts; forehead, crown and behind eye dark blue; lores, throat and sides of head pale yellow (or cream-white); variable black line on ear coverts (completely absent in some specimens); breast and upper abdomen orange; concealed yellow edging on innermost wing coverts; hill grey black; legs greenish grey.
FEMALE: Cheeks yellow, bordered behind by prominent black band and below by a greenish-blue band; orange ear coverts; breast greenish.
Immatures are similar to the female. However, there is a distinct immature phase where chicks, on fledging, have gray cheeks, slowly acquiring the orange, as they molt into a plumage phase, not unlike that of an adult female, and young males takes about two to three years to attain full adult plumage.
Various authors have indicated that Orange-breasted Fig Parrots are common to numerous where they occur, replacing the habitat unoccupied by Doubleeyed Fig Parrots, especially in the southern parts of its range in Papua New Guinea. The distribution and status of the nominate gulielmiterti is restricted to the western part of Vogelkop, Irian Jaya, near the Indonesian town of Sorong and to the Western Papuan Island of Salawati. It is the westernmost and most isolated occurring form of the species and no other subspecies of Orange-breasted Fig Parrot occurs within its range.
From my personal observations, it is decidedly local and rather scarce in its numbers, with only approximately 30 birds found in a single locality.
I had never seen or heard of the Orange-breasted Fig Parrot during my starting years in aviculture, until a pair of the subspecies suavissima was illustrated in the publication of the Singapore Avicultural Society. They immediately endeared me to their small size and exquisite coloration.
Previously, the genus Opopsitta was represented by only the nominate sub-species of the Double-eyed Fig Parrot 0. d. diopbtbalma, that was still occasionally available to local aviculturists. I then sought to find these birds from
dealers, but found that they do not have them, mainly due to the rarity and high mortality rates of this particular species of Fig Parrot.
Indeed, from my experience, newly collected birds are decidedly delicate and the experience can almost be compared to the thought of trying to acclimatize Pygmy Parrots Micropsitta sp. in captivity.
Thus, coupled with stress and infections with bacteria, in less than sanitary conditions provided by the native dealers and trappers, very few birds can be expected to survive. I then planned two informal expeditions to Salawati and Sorong in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, and began the difficult task of trapping and keeping these birds alive. A total of nine birds was obtained from these two trips, and these have formed the basis of my breeding nucleus for this rare and exquisite Fig Parrot.
After appropriate isolation and quarantine at our facility in Singapore, the birds were initially housed in spacious flights that were planted. This produced nearly disastrous results, with two birds dying within the first week. Finally, they were accommodated in small lorikeet cages, measuring 150 x 80 x 100 cm high (60 x 32 x 40 in.) with natural guava and rambutan branches provided for gnawing.
This appeared to be the most suitable alternative, and the birds were broken up to form pairs and trios, consisting of an extra male. They cannot be kept on a colony system once established, as they are quite aggressive and very territorial; observations have shown that, like Eclectus Parrots Eclectus roratus, the female is dominant and can effectively prevent weaker birds from obtaining any food or...