Lesser sulphur Cockatoo

The Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea, also known as the Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, is a medium-sized (approximately 35 cm long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile yellow crest. The sexes are similar. Lessor, the cockatoo used in the TV series Baretta, was a Yellow-crested Cockatoo.

The Yellow-crested Cockatoo is found in wooded and cultivated areas of East Timor (Timor-Leste) and Indonesia's islands of Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas. It is easily confused with the larger[2][3] and more common Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, which has a more easternly distribution and can be distinguished by the lack of pale yellow coloring on its cheeks (although some Sulphur-cresteds develop yellowish patches). Also, the Yellow-crested Cockatoo's crest is a brighter color, closer to orange.[4] The Citron-crested Cockatoo, which is a subspecies of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, is similar, but its crest is orange.[5]

The Yellow-crested Cockatoo's diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts and herbaceous plants.

Breeding
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually two in a clutch. The incubation is shared by both parents. The eggs are incubated for about 28 days and the chicks leave the nest about 75 days after hatching.[5]

[edit] Status and conservation
The Yellow-crested Cockatoo is critically endangered.[1] Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. Between 1980 and 1992, over 100,000 of these birds were legally exported from Indonesia yet a German proposal submitted to CITES to move it to Appendix I[6] was not approved. It has since been moved to Appendix I.[2] The current population is estimated at as few as 2,500 individuals and is thought to be declining in number.[2]

The subspecies abbotti is found only on the island of Masakambing, one of the Masalembu islands. Its population on this tiny island (about 5 km2 or 1.9 mi2) had fallen to 10 as of June and July 2008. The decline results from trapping and logging, especially of mangrove (Avicennia apiculata) and kapok trees.[7]

Several national parks provide protection of their habitat, including Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park on Sulawesi, Komodo National Park in Komodo Island, the national parks of Manupeu Tanah Daru and Laiwangi Wanggameti on Sumba as well as the Nino Konis Santana National Park in East Timor (Timor-Leste).[2]

[edit] Introduced population
There is an introduced population of these birds in Hong Kong. They are a common sight across the densely populated area on both sides of the harbour, easily spotted in the woods and public parks in the northern and western of Hong Kong Island. The large group has apparently developed from a number of caged birds that have been released into the Hong Kong skies over many years. An often repeated story is that Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young released Government House's entire bird collection – including a large number of Yellow-crested Cockatoos – hours before surrendering Hong Kong to Japanese troops in December 1941

King Parrot

The king parrots are three species of medium-sized parrots in the genus Alisterus; the Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis), the Papuan King Parrot (Alisterus chloropterus), and the Moluccan King Parrot (Alisterus amboinensis). The three species are found in Eastern Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesian islands including the Maluku islands respectively. Predominantly of red and green plumage, the long tailed parrots are related to the genera Aprosmictus and Polytelis.

Description
King parrots are medium-sized parrots, 35–43 cm (14–17 in) in length with long-broad tails. They have relatively small beaks for their size. The beaks of the adults are two colours, blackish and orange-reddish, except for the subspecies buruensis of the Moluccan King Parrot which has a grey-black beak, and female Australian King Parrot which has a grey beak.[1]

[edit] Sexual dimorphism
The Papuan King Parrot and the Australian King Parrot show sexual dimorphism in their plumage and beak colouration, which contrast to the Moluccan King Parrot where the male and female have an identical external appearance.[1]

The two subspecies of the Australian King Parrot are similar except in size. The male has a red head and neck, red lower parts, blue back and rump, green wings each with a pale-green band (resembling a shoulder stripe). In the female there is red plumage over the lower abdomen, green is continuous over the chest, back, neck and head, and the pale-green wing band is small or absent.[1]

The three subspecies of the Papuan King Parrot all show sexual dimorphism and in all three subspecies the male can be identified by a prominent broad pale-green band on each wing. The differences in the females between subspecies are more marked than the differences in the males. The female of subspecies A. c. moszkowskii has green wings, and a red head, neck, chest and abdomen resembling the male, and differs from the male with its much smaller pale-green wing band. The females of A. c. chloropterus and A. c. calloterus differ from the males with broadly similar sexual dimorphism to the Australian King Parrot with extended green plumage, except the chests of the females of these two Papuan King Parrot subspecies have vague transverse green and red striations.[1]

[edit] Behaviour and ecology
The three species are forest-dwelling, and are found singly, in pairs, or in groups.[2] Australian King Parrots sometimes gather in groups of up to 30 or more around food sources, while Moluccan King Parrots sometimes form groups up to ten, and the Moluccan King Parrots may gather in groups of fives or sixes.[2] They generally feed on seeds, fruits and berries in trees.

Fig Parrot

Fig parrots are two small genera of parrots (Cyclopsitta and Psittaculirostris) of the Psittacidae family found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and tropical Australia. The subdivisions within the tribe are controversial. The Double-eyed Fig Parrot is 13–16 cm in length and is the smallest Australian parrot.

[edit] Tribe Cyclopsittacini
Genus Cyclopsitta
Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii
Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Cyclopsitta diophthalma
Genus Psittaculirostris
Large Fig Parrot, Psittaculirostris desmarestii
Edwards's Fig Parrot, Psittaculirostris edwardsii
Salvadori's Fig Parrot, Psittaculirostris salvadorii
[edit] Diet
As its name suggests, a Fig Parrot's diet consists mainly of the various figs that grow in its natural habitat. It will also eat many other types of fruit and also nectar

Chattering Lory (Parrot)

The Chattering Lory, Lorius garrulus is a forest-dwelling parrot endemic to North Maluku, Indonesia. It is considered vulnerable, the main threat being from trapping for the cage-bird trade.

The race L. g. flavopalliatus is known as the Yellow-backed Lorikeet.

Description
The Chattering Lory is 30 cm (12 in) long. It is mostly red with an all-red head and an orange beak. The eyerings are grey and the irises are orange-red. The wings are mainly green and the angle of the wing is yellow. Its thighs are green. The tail is tipped with dark green. It has dark grey legs. It may or may not have a yellow area on its back depending on the subspecies.[3]

Sun Conure

The Sun Parakeet or Sun Conure (Aratinga solstitialis) is a medium-sized brightly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with predominantly golden-yellow plumage and orange-flushed underparts and face. It is commonly kept in aviculture. The species is endangered, threatened by loss of habitat and trapping for the pet trade.

Description
On average, Sun Parakeets weigh approximately 110 g (4 oz) and are around 30 cm (12 in) long.[1] They are sexually monomorphic.

Adults have a rich yellow crown, nape, mantle, lesser wing-coverts, tips of the greater wing-coverts, chest, and underwing-coverts. The face and belly are orange with red around the ears. The base of the greater wing-coverts, tertials, and base of the primaries are green, while the secondaries, tips of the primaries, and most of the primary coverts are dark blue. The tail is olive-green with a blue tip. From below, all the flight feathers are dark greyish. The bill is black. The legs and the bare eye-ring are grey, but the latter often fades to white in captivity (so using amount of grey or white in the eye-ring for determining "purity" of an individual can be misleading). It is easily confused with the closely related Jandaya Parakeet and Sulphur-breasted Parakeet, but the former has entirely green wing-coverts, mantle and vent, while the latter has green mottling to the mantle and less orange to the underparts. The Sun Parakeet is also superficially similar to the pale-billed Golden Parakeet.

Juvenile Sun Parakeets display a predominantly green plumage and resemble similar-aged Sulphur-breasted Parakeets. The distinctive yellow, orange, and reddish colouration on the back, abdomen, and head is attained with maturity.[2]


Habitat and behavior
Its exact ecological requirements remain relatively poorly known. It is widely reported as occurring in savanna and coastal forests, but recent sightings suggest it mainly occurs at the edge of humid forest growing in foothills in the Guiana Shield, and crosses more open habitats only when traveling between patches of forest.

Like other members of the genus Aratinga, the Sun Parakeet is social and typically occurs in groups of up to 30 individuals. It has been reported as nesting in palm cavities. It mainly feeds on fruits, flowers, berries, nuts, and the like. Otherwise, relatively little is known about its behavior in the wild, in part due to confusion over what information refers to the Sun Parakeet and what refers to the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet. Regardless, the behavior of the two is unlikely to differ to any great extent.

The Sun Parakeet occurs only in a relatively small region of north-eastern South America: the north Brazilian state of Roraima, southern Guyana, extreme southern Suriname, and southern French Guiana. It also occurs as a vagrant to coastal French Guiana. Its status in Venezuela is unclear, but there are recent sightings from the south-east near Santa Elena de Uairén. It may occur in Amapá or far northern Pará (regions where the avifauna generally is very poorly documented), but this remains to be confirmed. Populations found along the Amazon River in Brazil are now known to belong to the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet.

In the past, the Sun Parakeet has been considered safe and listed as Least Concern, but recent surveys in southern Guyana (where previously considered common) and the Brazilian state Roraima have revealed that it possibly is extirpated from the former and rare in the latter. It is very rare in French Guiana, but may breed in the southern part of the country (this remains unconfirmed). This species is very popular in captivity, and large numbers have been caught for the pet trade. Today it is regularly bred in captivity, but the capture of wild individuals potentially remains a very serious threat. This has fueled recent discussions regarding its status, leading to it being uplisted to Endangered in the 2008 IUCN Red List.[7]

Threats
There are a number of threats to the Sun Parakeet that make this species endangered. One of the threats is deforestation which has declined its numbers. Other threats include hunting for feathers, poaching, and capture for sale as pets.

Description of Blue Naped Parrot Care In Captivity

Pet Suitability:
Fairly quiet-good for close neighbours.

Captive Status:
Occasionally available

Longevity:
Not available

Housing:
Walk-in aviary, minimum length 3m (9.8 ft).

Diet:
Mix of small seeds: canary, oats, safflower; spray millet; limited sunflower seed, dry, soaked or sprouted; sprouted mung or other beans, cooked butterbeans or lentils; boiled corn; fresh green leaves (Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed, etc); vegetables including carrot, celery, zucchini, squash, green beans and peas in the pod; fruit including apple, pear, orange, cactus fruits, bananas; nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and roasted peanuts, complete kibble.

Blue-naped Parrot

The Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis), also known as the Blue-crowned Green Parrot, Luzon Parrot, the Philippine Green Parrot, and locally known as Pikoy, is a parrot found throughout the Philippines including the Talaud Islands and islands off north and east Borneo (with introduced population in Borneo itself, e.g. Kota Kinabalu). It is a medium size parrot (31 cm), primarily green except for a light blue rear crown and nape, pale blue lower back and rump, scalloped shoulders with orange-brown on black coverts, and blackish underwings with green underwing coverts.

It is found in secondary forest, forest edge and plantations up to 1000 m. Flock size is usually under a dozen. They feed on berries, seeds, nuts and grain. Habitat loss and trapping have made them scarce on most islands except Mindoro and Palawan. Though the Katala Foundation has raised concerns over the increasing illegal trade in this bird on Palawan.[1]