Double-eyed Fig Parrot

1 Double-eyed Fig Parrot Breed Overview

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (details)

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot is mainly distributed in Indonesia, New Guinea, and Papua New Guinea. Because all are wild-caught imports from Southeast Asia, numbers in China are small, and prices are relatively high. Breeding is also relatively difficult.

Chinese Name: Double-eyed Fig Parrot

English Name: Double-eyed Fig Parrot

Binomial Name: Opopsitta diophthalma

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Subspecies: 7

2 Physical Characteristics of the Double-eyed Fig Parrot

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (details)

The ideal Double-eyed Fig Parrot should be about 15 cm long, weighing 42–55 g. Its cute, charming looks and small size make it popular with many young women.

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot’s face is made of complex colors: the front is like a mask, the cheek and ear coverts deep red, the crown to the side of the eye brilliant turquoise, a green line crossing the top and back of the eye, the red cheek below with a blue-violet sheen continuing to the throat. The wing coverts are bright green, the primary coverts blue. The secondaries are dull turquoise-blue with black outer and inner vanes. All feathers show yellow-white bands with green and yellow edges at the base. The lower underparts are all yellow-green, slightly paler than the back; along the wing edge the feathers flash long yellow streaks; the under-tail coverts are gray. The beak is strong, lead-gray with a dark gray cere; the iris dark brown; legs and feet gray-green.

3 Double-eyed Fig Parrot Living Environment

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (details)

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot is not only scarce in China but also not numerous locally in Southeast Asia. Keeping this bird requires knowledge; if kept merely as a flying bird, mortality can exceed 80%.

In the wild the Double-eyed Fig Parrot mainly inhabits mid-to-low altitude rainforests, forest edges, dry forests, forests along streams and rivers, and open eucalyptus woodland; in Australia it also appears in parks, shrubland, cropland, and mangrove areas.

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot is very scarce in international aviculture; the main reasons are difficult care and low chick survival. Newly imported birds are very sensitive and often die from stress and unrest, especially wild ones. Caged Double-eyed Fig Parrots are quiet; their biting is not strong, but provide branches to chew to prevent overgrowth of the upper beak. They are also sensitive to low temperatures—generally keep above 15°C, and above 20°C when there are chicks in the nest. So in cold winters and hot summers this bird should not be kept outdoors.

4 Double-eyed Fig Parrot Care and Breeding

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (details)

Captive-bred Double-eyed Fig Parrots have much higher survival than wild ones, so ask clearly about the source before buying to avoid being cheated. In temperament they are not as playful and tame as lories.

The Australian subspecies—Coxen’s Double-eyed Fig Parrot—is listed in CITES Appendix I as a first-class protected parrot because its habitat is severely damaged.

Breeding the Double-eyed Fig Parrot is not easy, and chick mortality is very high—they often do not survive a few days, and this recurs. If you meet this problem, after chicks hatch, switch the usual food to soft foods (such as mango, papaya) and it may help. Breed pairs separately, install the nest box in a dark place, lay 2 eggs per clutch, incubation about 21 days; the parents are sensitive to nest-box checks, so do not disturb often. Feathers grow in about 35 days; chicks usually leave the nest at about 40 days. The male can sometimes be aggressive toward chicks, so do not move them out too late.

5 Double-eyed Fig Parrot Feeding Guidelines

Double-eyed Fig Parrot (details)

The Double-eyed Fig Parrot demands a lot not only from its environment but also from its food; success depends on diet. These parrots often die from vitamin K deficiency, so supply vitamin supplements appropriately.

Besides figs, the Double-eyed Fig Parrot’s natural foods include fruit, nectar, insect larvae, and moss and fungi scraped from bark. While foraging it gathers with other fig parrots, rosellas, and lories. It forages quietly, agilely and quickly, and does not go to the ground to feed.