Électus des Moluques

Identification

The Moluccan eclectus is unusual in the parrot family for its marked visible light sexual dimorphism in the colours of the plumage. A stocky short-tailed parrot, it measures around 35 cm (14 in) in length. The male is mostly bright green with a yellow-tinge on the head. It has blue primaries, and red flanks and underwing coverts. Its tail is edged with a narrow band of creamy yellow and is dark grey edged with creamy yellow underneath, and the tail feathers are green centrally and bluer as they get towards the edges. The grand Eclectus female is mostly bright red with a darker hue on the back and wings. The mantle and underwing coverts darken to a more purple in colour, and the wing is edged with a mauve-blue. The tail is edged with yellowish-orange above and is more orange tipped with yellow underneath. The upper mandible of the adult male is orange at the base fading to a yellow towards the tip, and the lower mandible is black. The beak of the adult female is all black. Adults have yellow to orange irises and juveniles have dark brown to black irises. The upper mandible of both male and female juveniles are brown at the base fading to yellow towards the biting edges and the tip.The abdomen and nape of the females are blue in most subspecies, purple abdomen and nape in the subspecies (roratus) and lavender abdomen and nape in the (vosmaeri). Females of riedeli and vosmaeri also have yellow undertail coverts. The female vosmaeri displays the brightest red of all the subspecies, both on the head and body. They don't tend to talk in clear voices until they are 1 year old.<p>A blue colour mutation has appeared in avicultural eclectus populations as a result of a recessive gene. The cock bird is light blue, while the hen is a combination of dark blue, white and grey.

Taxonomie

Ornithologists usually classify the Moluccan eclectus as a member of tribe Psittaculini in the family Psittacidae of order Psittaciformes. However, some recent thoughts indicate a great deal of commonality between the eclectus parrots and the Lorini tribe.[verification needed][citation needed]<p>Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson noted similarities in the skull were noted between the eclectus parrots and members of the genus Geoffroyus, specifically in the auditory meatus and the prefrontal reaching but not joining the squamosal bones. The skull of members the genus Tanygnathus is also generally similar.<p>Three subspecies of Moluccan eclectus are known, although the species as a whole needs reviewing. Access to some regions where the species occurs is difficult due to geographical or political reasons, hence field observations have been limited. Furthermore, many skins collected in the early part of the 19th century have deteriorated in some museums. However, most eclectus skins in US museums are in good condition. In captivity in the U.S., some of the most common subspecies are Vosmaer's, and the New Guinea red-sided.

Nom scientifique

Eclectus roratus

Autorité

(Müller, PLS, 1776)

Ordre

Psittaciformes

Famille

Psittaculidés

Genre

Eclectus

Répartition et habitat

Migration

Resident species

Conservation

Tendance de la population

declining