Masked Shining Parrot
Also known as:
Masked Parrot, Masked Musk Parrot, Yellow-breasted Musk Parrot
Also known as:
Masked Parrot, Masked Musk Parrot, Yellow-breasted Musk Parrot
DID YOU KNOW?
The Masked Shining Parrot, also called the Musk Parrot, gets its name from the musky scent it is associated with.
Size:
47 cm (18.3 in)
Weight:
322 g (11.3 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Both adults black face; yellow down centre of breast, turning to orange on centre of abdomen; outer webs of primary feathers purple/blue; tail green washed with blue. Beak grey/black. Eye orange.
Colour Juvenile:
As in adults but with less extensive black on face. Beak horn-coloured and streaked with grey. Eye brown.
Call:
Harsh, grating notes while in flight, usually repeated. High-pitched similar notes rapidly repeated when alarmed. While perched cackling sounds; call notes loud and boisterous.
More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.
Captive Status:
Rarely found in aviculture.
Longevity:
—
Housing:
Walk-in enclosure 5 x 1 x 2 m (16.4 x 3.3 6.5 ft).
Diet:
Fruits such as: apple, pear, orange, cactus fruits, pomegranate, etc, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables if taken; lory nectar from fruit pulp; rice and multigrain flakes; dextrose and low-fat yoghurt; sprouted pulses and seed; boiled maize; biscuits softened in nectar; brewer’s yeast.
Enrichment:
Supply fresh bird safe woods and branches. Enjoys bathing. Enjoys chewing buds and flowers off branches.
Nest Box Size:
Vertical box 12″ x 12″ x 40″ (30.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 101.6 cm).
Clutch Size:
Two
Fledging Age:
—
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
40,000-100,000 mature individuals, slowly decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Near Threatened
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Not globally threatened. A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Fairly common and very frequent in the Nausori Highlands in 1970. Is affected by deforestation and fragmentation. Forest loss likely approached 30% over the last 15 years, but has now stabilised at a slower rate.
Range:
Found on Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
Habitat:
Found up to 1200 m (3936 ft) in mature forest and secondary growth areas, occasionally village gardens, farmland and mangroves. Also forest edge and in trees bordering waterways and ponds.
Wild Diet:
Takes fruits including Inocarpus fagiferus, mango, guava, figs and bananas; seeds, flowers, insects including caterpillars, seeds, berries and occasionally cultivated grain.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Occurs singly or in pairs, or outside breeding season in flocks up to 40 birds. Fly swiftly through the forest or above the canopy. Are noisy; their calls are one of the alarm calls of the forest that other animals rely on. Are timid to human approach.
Clutch and Egg Size:
2 or more rounded or broadly elliptical eggs, 38.0 x 30.0 mm (1.5 x 1.2 in).
Breeding Season:
July-September. Nest is in tree hollow.
Related Links:
—
