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Ouvéa Parakeet

 (Eunymphicus uvaeensis)
 
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Wild Ouvéa Parakeet
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The two Eunymphicus species are the only parakeets with crests.


Academic Research

Related publications: Eunymphicus uvaeensis

Species Profile

Genus: Eunymphicus | Species: uvaeensis

Size:

33cm (13in)

Weight:

140g (5oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

one

Colour Adult:

Both adults mainly green plumage offset by yellowish underparts, bluish wings and tail, dark face mask. Six forward-curling black feathers form the crest. Forecrown red. Upper parts light green, paler on rump.  Bill blue-grey at base, black towards tip. Eye orange.

Colour Juvenile:

Not observed.

Call:

Nasal-sounding hoots, shrieks and chuckles.

Listen Now

Video Links:

Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Ouvéa Parakeet
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The two Eunymphicus species are the only parakeets with crests.


Academic Research

Related publications: Eunymphicus uvaeensis

Species Care

Captive Status:

Extremely rare.

Longevity:

Not recorded.

Housing:

Walk-in aviary, minimum length 4.5m (13ft 6in).

Diet:

Small seed mix such as: canary, oats, safflower and a little hemp; spray millet; limited sunflower seed, dry, soaked or sprouted; sprouted pulses such as mung beans, cooked butterbeans and lentils; boiled maize; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; vegetables such as: carrot, corn, celery, zucchini, squash, green beans and peas in the pod; fruits such as: apple, pear, oranges, bananas, cactus fruits, pomegranate; nuts such as: hazelnuts (lightly cracked), pecans and roasted peanuts; complete pellet.

Enrichment:

Provide overhead misters or shallow bathing bowls, puzzle/foraging toys, swings, ladders, ropes, noise makers and bird-safe chewable wood or vegetable tanned leather toys. Place multiple perches throughout spacious aviary.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical box 8" x 8" x 18" (20.3cm x 20.3cm x 45.7cm).

Clutch Size:

Probably as in E. cornutus: 3-4

Incubation Time:

Probably as in E. cornutus: 22 days

Fledging Age:

Probably as in E. cornutus: 5 weeks

Hatch Weight:

Probably as in E. cornutus: 6g (0.2oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Ouvéa Parakeet
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The two Eunymphicus species are the only parakeets with crests.


Academic Research

Related publications: Eunymphicus uvaeensis

Species Wild Status

World Population:

About 2090.

IUCN Red List Status:

Vulnerable

CITES Listing:

Appendix I (as conspecific with Eunymphicus cornutus)

Threat Summary:

Habitat loss (30-50% loss of forest in 30 years) to plantations, illegal local bird trade, damage to nest sites due to bird trade, competition for nest holes by introduced bees, and predation of juveniles by the Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) and perhaps other avian predators.

Range:

Restricted to Ouvéa Island, in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.

Habitat:

Old growth humid forest with kauri Agathis australis pines.

Wild Diet:

Fruits from Ficus sp, Syzygium and Mimusops, canary beech, brush bloodwood and small passionfruit. Also forages for seeds. Cultivated pawpaw (Carica papaya) and other plants taken; Hibiscus tiliaceus bark as well.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Birds are noisy and active, feeding in forest and on crops in adjacent cultivated land. Requires old-growth forest for nest cavities. Occurs where papaya is cultivated.

Clutch and Egg Size:

2-4 eggs, 27.1 x 22.5mm

Breeding Season:

July-January; nest is in tree hollow.

Related Links:

Research: Exponential population increase in the endangered Ouvea Parakeet after community-based protection...
Research: Morphological, behavioural and genetic differentiation within the Horned Parakeet...

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild Ouvéa Parakeet
© Mehd Halaouate

Did You Know?

The two Eunymphicus species are the only parakeets with crests.


Academic Research

Related publications: Eunymphicus uvaeensis

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