Animal-World > Pet Birds > Other Parrots > Eclectus Parrot

Eclectus Parrot

Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Psittaculini

• Puzzles
• Postcards

Eclectus Parrot - Female Photo courtesy: Anonymous

"Alex", Eclectus Parrot - Male Photo © Animal-World

   Alexander, (now called "Alex" by his owner Bobby), was a very affectionate and playful youngster while he was being reared! He has evolved into very pleasant company and a fun pet for Bobby.

   The lovely Eclectus parrots are attractive and intelligent birds. They are real show stoppers with their beautiful, vibrant coloration! Eclectus parrots make very affectionate pets and enjoy human attention, they can however be rather noisy pets and are best suited to environments where their loud calls are not a bother.

To learn more about Parrot Care visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Bird

Description:
   The Eclectus parrots are vividly colored birds with tight interlocking hair like feathers which produce a sleek glossy plumage that actually looks like silk. They are a large stocky parrot, being 14 to 15 inches in length (35 cm), and have a short square tail and long round tipped wings.
   The male Eclectus is brilliant green on top, has yellowish-green wing coverts, and has red patches on the breast and under the wings. The tail feathers are almost black with yellow tips. The upper beak is a a coral yellow with a yellowish tip and the lower mandible is black. The iris is a dark orange.
   The female Eclectus has a rich red on the head and breast while the back and wing feathers tend to a darker red. The belly and the nape of the neck are a dull purple to a blue and the tail is tipped with orange. Their beak is black. The iris of the female is a yellow color and they have a blue ring around the eye. (All young Eclectus have brown irises.)
   The Eclectus parrot has evolved into at least 10 subspecies, four of which are available in the industry. The females in each subspecies appear quite similar, but the males vary widely in their markings. Differences in the subspecies are specific to the location they came from in the Pacific Islands and include size, head coloration, and brightness of plumage.

Distribution:
   The Eclectus parrots are found in Australia, New Guinea, and the islands of eastern Indonesia.

Care and feeding:
   Fresh food and water must be provided daily. In the wild the Eclectus parrots eats seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, leaf buds, blossoms, and nectar. Besides a good seed mix, Fruits and green foods are essential to keep the Eclectus healthy! Their digestive tract is adapted to a fibrous diet and if deprived, they may develop Candidiasis (see below). Eclectus are also prone to becoming fat, another reason why they should be encouraged to eat more vegetables and less oily seed. A cuttle bone or a calcium block is a good source of calcium.

The fungal disease, Candidiasis, is associated with Indonesian parrots including the Eclectus parrot, because these birds need a relatively high amount of Vitamin A. Dry seed is notably deficient in Vitamin A, which is why they need additions to a seed based diet. Candidiasis is apparent in the mouth. The bird will play with its food rather than eating it, and you may notice a sticky whitish discharge from the beak. Inside the mouth will be whitish patches of Candida fungus. Your vet can give you medication for this, but you will also need to improve the birds diet.

   Foods for your pet will include a ready made large hookbill seed mix enriched with vitamins, but Eclectus must also have their diet supplemented with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Fresh foods you can offer include green peas, cucumber, young dandelion greens, sweet corn, beet greens, carrots, broccoli, unsprayed lettuce, chickweed, dandelions, eggplant, green peppers, sorrel, spinach leaves, tomatoes and zucchini. Do not feed avocado as it is toxic to birds! Fruits that you can offer include, apples, peaches, apricots, bananas, pears, plums, raisons, and most other fruits.
   Most parrots enjoy and occasional shower or bath. A shower can be accomplished with either a hand held shower sprayer or a hose with a fine spray head and lukewarm water. A bath pan or ceramic dish 12"-14" (30-35 cm) can be placed on the bottom of the cage or mounted at about 39" (1m) above the floor in an aviary. The wings should be kept trim if you want to discourage flight and to prevent the loss of your pet through an open window or door. The beak and claws need to be trimmed if they are not worn down from climbing and chewing.

Housing:
    A cage best suited to adequately house an Eclectus parrot would be between 39"- 59" (100-150 cm) high and have a floor space of 23"x 39" (60 x 100 cm). This size will provide room for lots of movement as well as space for perches, food dishes and a variety of playthings. A room to adequately house 2 Eclectus needs a ceiling height of at least 70" (180 cm) and a minimum floor space of 39"x59" (100 x 150 cm). Perches should be 1/2" to 1" round or square as well as various sized fruit tree branches. Playthings can be such things as climbing ropes, chains, bells, parrot swings and wooden or other bird toys.
   An outdoor or breeding aviary needs to have a protected shelter that can be heated and cooled where necessary. It should be no smaller than 59" - 79" (1.5 - 2 m) high with a floor space of 39"x 39" (1 m x 1 m) and have an attached flight cage. The flight should be 79" - 118" (2 - 3 m) long with a perch at each end. A climbing branch and a bird bath are nice additions too.

Maintenance:
  The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Weekly you should wash all the perches and dirty toys, and the floor should be washed about every other week. A total hosing down and disinfecting of an aviary should be done yearly, replacing anything that needs to be freshened, such as old dishes, toys and perches.

Social Behaviors:
  Eclectus parrots are tamed easily and are very sociable. Some folks feel the male is the more talented, with more talking ability and easier to tame. However, both sexes can become affectionate pets and enjoy human handling.

Handling/Training:
   You should give a new arrival a few days to get use to you, your voice and it's cage before trying to handle it. A handfed baby will not need much taming and can often be handled right away, as it is use to human attention. Remember that taming and training a bird takes patience, never 'punish' your pet! This only serves to destroy the trust you've spent so much time building. For more information on training parrots, see About Amazon Parrots.
   For an extensive parrot training system that potentially turns your bird into a fun, loving companion as well as learning lots of cool trickls, try Chet Womach's Parrot Training Course.

Activities:
   Exercise and play are important activities for the physical well being and psychological health of your parrot. These activities help deter distress and prevent the problems of screeching and feather picking. Provide your parrot with lots of activities in the form of large link chains, bird ladders, parrot swings, ropes, fresh branches for gnawing and chewing, and rotate new bird toys on a regular basis.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Sexing Eclectus parrots is simple. The adults and even the chicks are dimorphic, meaning the males are mainly green and the females are red and blue. The biggest challenge is mating members of the same subspecies. There are four subspecies of Eclectus available and they can be difficult to distinguish between. If you are a beginner looking to breed, you should seek the aid of an experienced breeder to help you choose birds of the same subspecies.
   Bonded pairs will readily nest, which makes the Eclectus a fairly easy bird to breed. While most large parrots will usually only lay (and rear) one clutch of eggs in an outdoor aviary, the Eclectus are "free-breeders" and may nest several times during a breeding season.
   In the wild, they are seen nesting in groups with each pair making their nest very high up, in the hole of a tree. Eclectus will need a nest box mounted as high up as possible. It should be at least is 31"-39" (80-100 cm) high with an inside diameter of 12"-14" (30-35 cm) and an opening of 4"-5" (10-12 cm). Provide some bedding material inside on the bottom of the box. In the wild their nests have been observed to have the eggs laid on wood chips.
   An Eclectus female will usually lay 2 eggs. The female will brood for 26 to 28 days while the male brings her food. The hatchlings will leave the nest at about twelve weeks.
   Beware of over breeding. Free-breeders are prone to having a calcium deficiency. This can result in complications of soft-shelled eggs and egg binding. Provide plenty of calcium. Cuttlebone is an excellent choice not only for the female but also for the chicks, as they are prone to rickets. Be sure to remove the nest box after the brooding until you are ready for them to nest again.

Potential Problems:
   An eclectus parrot that is well cared for will seldom become ill. Though it is often difficult to determine illness, some visible signs of illness to be aware of are ruffled plumage, listlessness, drooping wings, sagging body, extreme mood changes, having no appetite, bulges in feathering, partially closed or watery eyes, swelling of the eyelids, rasping, difficulty breathing, excessive saliva, dirty vent, and any change in the feces not apparently diet related.
   Some of the more common illnesses are; Psittacosis (chlamydiosis or parrot fever); bacterial, viral, or fungal infections; feather picking (results of boredom, poor diet, sexual frustration, lack of bathing); allergies; chewing flight and tail feathers by juveniles, beak malformations in chicks; Papillomas; kidney disease (gout); toxicity, heavy metal poisoning; lipomas in older birds.
   Immediately provide a warm, draft free, secure environment kept at about 86°F (30°C). Place food and water close to the perch where it is easily accessible. An ailing parrot should be taken to a avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

   Behavour problems usually stem from something missing in the bird's environment. Boredom, lack of trust, lack of interaction with other birds or people can lead to problems like biting, feather plucking, and screaming. Try to develop a bond of trust and spend time with your bird to help avoid these problems. We have also had good success with Chet Womach's Parrot Training Course. He offers free 3-day introductory course so you can try it out before you buy anything.

Availability:
   Eclectus parrots have been successfully bred and are readily available, though they are moderately expensive.

Add your comment here!
Click to see All the comments!
Latest Comments
Hi from South Africa, I have the most two beautiful birds in the world. Billy (just over a year) and Ruby, his wife to be(10 months) are the most entertaining, comical clowns - they have no clue they are birds. Billy has been brought up as first born - spoilt brat, and still thinks he is only a baby. Ruby was bought as a present for my husband but also has no clue she is supposed to belong to paul (my husband). Lately Billy feeds her, getting down off his perch to get some choice bit of food and taking it up to her. Both birds are out of their cage from 6:30am and sit in my office with me until 2:30pm. All of our customers think they are amazing and if they breed I already have orders! Both have the most wonderful natures - our BREEDER told us that we would not enjoy a female Eclectus - but she is far more tolerant. Both talk extremely well - singing "How much is that doggy in the window" - one sings and the other will do Woof Woof at the end. Both Know my dogs by name and will give my cats a run for their money! I would recommend these wonderful family members to anyone who is looking for a companion or family pet. Joanna Thomas 2007-05-22
I have a 14 m old male eclectus, Simon. Simon joined our family at 3 weeks old. He is the sweetest, most loving bird. I read several comments about Eclectus' being loud. I have not found this to be true however, I do spend a minimum of 2 hours in the morning and 5 hours a night with him. I have found he only yells when you leave the house IF you don't say goodbye and if one of the other family gets too loud- it's like he's telling us to hush. I take him to bed to watch tv and he lays flat on his stomach and goes to sleep. (He gives me dirty looks when I wake him to put him in his cage.) Simon already has about 15 words in his vocab and it is growing everyday. As I tell most people, although Simon is my 3rd son, I don't recommend to people to get one unless they are willing to get up early (I get up at 4am) to spend time with him before work, and spend all evening with him. It is like having a 1 year old child for the next 60 or so years. This is something I do willingly and happily but I would hate for another bird to be unhappy. Sherri 2006-12-20
Over the summer I purchased a Female Eclectus which I named Winona she is only around 5-6 months old now. But such a sweet heart, She is not talking yet, but does say things that a little hard to make out. She takes a bath just about every morning in her water dish. I feed her plenty of treats, and good healthy food. Just a 5lb bag of bird seed for her is almost 50 bucks. She also gets along great with my Duivonbode Lory they just chill up on top the cage. Over all anyone that is looking into purchasing this bird should consider it, they really truly are great : ) christina 2006-11-20
I am the proud Mom of an Eclectus pair. Keiko, 3 yrs and Chloe, 2 yrs. I have a background with exotic birds and I brought them both home just as their feathers were beginning to show. Hand feeding was a joy and Keiko truly thinks I'm his Mom. He is amazingly friendly, talks up a storm, is too lazy to fly, lives on my shoulder whenever possible and plays "dead bird". He loves to meet new people and has never even attempted to bite anyone. He is jealous when I give attention to Chloe and he tries to get between us so he can give me a kiss. He's a great traveler and loves to take a shower. Chloe is a little more timid when it comes to strangers but she absolutely loves Mom. She took longer to warm up, but taking their cages from the living room and giving them their own room, definitely made the difference in Chloe's social temperment. She is eager to come out of her cage now and will stay with whoever is currently spoiling her, until they put her back or pass her on to someone else. She says "hello" very clearly and jibber jabbers constantly. She jumps on my shoulder whenever I walk by her and also loves her shower. She and Keiko fight for the best position on the shower perch. She sets her own bedtime. Around 8PM every night, she flies off the couch, my shoulder or where ever she is and walks to her room. We follow behind and pick her up to put her in her cage. We never hear a peep out of her after that. Keiko, on the other hand, has to be sent to bed. He would live on my shoulder if I let him. Thank goodness he has NEVER used me as a potty. He will leave me, go to Dad to do his business, and then return to me. Chloe, on the other hand, could care less where she goes, so I'm constantly cleaning up behind her. We keep a fresh towel on the back of the couch and another on the floor behind. That takes care of most of the mess. The two are considering starting a family and we're anxiously awaiting the first arrivals. Keiko and Chloe's mom 2006-05-17
I have a female solomon island eclectus. She doesn't really talk clear . She like jibbers and jabbers. She does imitate phones and does do a lot of swaaking. She is heard from blocks so the neighbors told me. she has her favorites with certain people and can be real nasty when she wants. I have her 15 years and she has never changed. I thought about mating her but I think she may beat him up. I would have liked a more placid bird and more talkative but she is so pretty she gets her way all the time. mary tancredi 2006-03-16
Some of the coolest comments:
I have a 5 year old female Eclectus. Over the years, I noticed her insatiable desire to find a dark secluded nook somewhere in the house. Usually the pantry, laundry room, or our guest bathroom. She loved making any of those her private nest. After month's of coming home only to have to find her, I finally built her a nest box out of an ordinary cardboard box. I put a couple of old worn thin towels inside for her, which she has since shredded to her liking. I cut a hole in the front of the box just large enough for her to get in. She absolutely loves it. At night, she gets off her cage and heads for the box to sleep. Around 9 or 10am, she gets back on her cage and goes to the bathroom, then eats her breakfast. It's really cool, and the best part is that she doesn't look for those other places in my house any more. Greg Collins 2007-01-13
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
I just want to Thank You for your web site. I needed information on the Eclectus. I needed it immediately, with no time to go to a book store. I am going to be feeding and watering an Eclectus tonight and knew absolutely nothing about them. So your web site is a lifesaver. Thank you very much. Sharon, California Sharon Barker 2007-05-06

Back to Other Parrots

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS