Member Login

Username

Password

Auto-login for future visits

Join or Renew Today!

Membership Benefits:

Close Button

Salvadori’s Fig Parrot

 (Psittaculirostris salvadorii)

Also known as: Whiskered Fig Parrot

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild male Salvadori's Fig Parrot
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The Salvadori's Fig Parrot was the last fig parrot to be discovered, in 1880.

Academic Research

Related publications: Psittaculirostris salvadorii

Species Profile

Genus: Psittaculirostris | Species: salvadorii

Size:

19cm (7.4 in)

Weight:

118g (4.1 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

one

Colour Adult:

Male-golden yellow longish feathers of cheeks and ear coverts; blue stripe behind eye; red/orange wide band across chest with pale blue patch on each side of breast which varies from bird to bird; orange/red edging on inner wing coverts; wide underwing stripes cream/yellow. Bill grey/black. Eye red.  Female-wide pale blue band across breast with orange/rust markings on each side of breast which varies from bird to bird; yellow/green longish thin feathers on cheeks and ear coverts.

Colour Juvenile:

As in adult female but in general duller in colour; pale blue chest band faint or invisible. Eye red/brown.

Call:

Calls while flying or perching include a stronger call that is a single short note, broken two or three times in a staccato trilling song. Weaker call is high-pitched and squeaky, but not shrill or staccato.

Listen Now

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
xeno-canto Salvadori's Fig Parrot, Matheve, Hans, XC156153
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild male Salvadori's Fig Parrot
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The Salvadori's Fig Parrot was the last fig parrot to be discovered, in 1880.

Academic Research

Related publications: Psittaculirostris salvadorii

Species Care

Captive Status:

Rare

Longevity:

Not recorded.

Housing:

Walk-in enclosure, minimum length 2.1m (7 ft) or indoor aviary minimum length 1.8m (6 ft).

Diet:

Soaked dry figs (soak in filtered water for a few hours), two or more per bird daily; one drop of Konakion (Roche) or other vitamin K additive; fruits such as: apple, pear, orange, kiwi, guava, papaya, cactus fruits, forming at least 50 percent of diet; soaked sultanas; berries such as: elder, mountain ash, blueberries (unsprayed), pyracantha; spray millet; small seed mix such as: canary, oats, safflower and a little hemp; limited sunflower seed; cooked beans and pulses; rearing food consisting of: hard boiled egg, wholegrain bread and carrot, all ground to crumbly consistency; breeding diet: large quantities of clean mealworms during first 3 weeks of life, commercial insectivorous food. Withhold seed for first 3 weeks of chicks' lives.

Enrichment:

Vigorous chewers so provide heat-sterilized pine cones, unsprayed flowering, fir, pine, elder or willow branches; wooden block or vegetable tanned leather toys; swings, ladders and ropes (non-sisal). Provide overhead misters or shallow water bowls for bathing.

Nest Box Size:

L-shaped nest box with 5" x 10" (12cm x 25cm) base, 5" (12cm) high.

Clutch Size:

2

Incubation Time:

25 days

Fledging Age:

8 weeks

Hatch Weight:

4.5g (0.15 oz)

Peak Weight:

Probably 115-125g (4-4.4 oz)

Weaning Weight:

100-102g (3.5-3.6 oz)

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild male Salvadori's Fig Parrot
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The Salvadori's Fig Parrot was the last fig parrot to be discovered, in 1880.

Academic Research

Related publications: Psittaculirostris salvadorii

Species Wild Status

World Population:

30,000-75,000, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Large numbers have been trapped for the wild bird trade. Extensive loss of habitat to timber and agriculture have also been threats and together with trapping are judged to be causing a rapid and substantial decline in numbers. A dam project which was shelved in the 1990s was proposed for the Mamberamo River and would further jeopardize the species.

Range:

NW New Guinea, from Humboldt Bay and Cyclops Mountains to eastern shores of Geelvink Bay, Irian Jaya.

Habitat:

Found up to 700m (2296 ft). Seen in forest, along forest edge, in partly cleared areas and near towns and villages.

Wild Diet:

Feeds on Ficus figs, fruit, nectar and flowers.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Gregarious; mixing with other species of birds. Birds hang upside down to feed, and make brief sorties above the forest canopy. Most frequently seen in pairs or small groups; they also nest in colonies.

Clutch and Egg Size:

2

Breeding Season:

Breeding time unknown. See prospecting cavity in tree.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild male Salvadori's Fig Parrot
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The Salvadori's Fig Parrot was the last fig parrot to be discovered, in 1880.

Academic Research

Related publications: Psittaculirostris salvadorii

Members Only Resources

Please log-in now to find more research, resources and tools.

Not a Member?

Find more great information:

Gain exclusive access to 600+ pages of additional research, seminars and podcasts, specialists to ask your toughest questions, and dozens of other fun resources - when you become a WPT member.

Already a Member?

Encyclopedia

Search by:
Common Name


Geographic Location


Type of Parrot


Taxonomic Name


Sign Up to Stay Informed




Become A WPT Member Check out the Latest Podcasts