Archive for the ‘Pets’ Category
Eclectus Parrots and Children

- Image by Kee Hinckley via Flickr
The Eclectus parrot is one of the most popular types of birds to have. Because these beautiful birds live for such a long time, the decision to adopt one is often well thought out, with the understanding that this is essentially a life long commitment. However, there is one thing that few people stop to consider children. Is an Eclectus parrot living in the same house with children a good idea?
There will always be people who are on the opposite side of the fence from others, and this topic is no exception. With that said, however, there are some things that you should consider if you have children for the overall safety of your children, and the Eclectus parrot that you plan to adopt.
For example, Eclectus parrots don’t fare well in noisy, unpredictable environments, and young children naturally create noisy, unpredictable environments. In this case, the children are just being children and the bird is just being a bird. It’s nobody’s fault, but neither the child nor the parrot will understand this.
Furthermore, little hands are not always gentle, and this could not only startle the Eclectus parrot, it could also injure him. All of this combined could cause the parrot to feel threatened every time the child enters the same room that he is in, and he may exhibit aggressive behavior towards the child, which of course opens up the potential for injury to the child.
For these reasons, if you have young children, or you still plan to have children at some point, you might want to put off getting an Eclectus parrot until the child is about ten or eleven years old. At this age, they are better able to understand the preferences of the Eclectus parrot, and better able to accommodate him. What you must realize is that a child can be reasoned with, once they reach a certain age, but the bird is still an animal, no matter how affectionate he is. You will never be able to explain the situation to the bird.
Otherwise, children should be an important part of the Eclectus parrots life. They should be taught how to care for the bird, and how to handle him appropriately. It is important that they realize how important it is to talk to the parrot, and also that they understand how much loud, unexpected noises disturb this special bird.
If the child is more tolerant of the Eclectus parrot and considerate of his needs, you will be amazed at how tolerant the bird is of the child as well. The two will get along famously, and because these creatures live so long, there is a chance that the child will eventually become the responsible adult in this birds life.
The Colors of the Eclectus Parrot

- Image by Michael Dawes via Flickr
When you look at an Eclectus parrot, you won’t have to wonder whether you are looking at a male or female. You see, Eclectus parrots are sexually dimorphic, meaning that you can tell the difference between the sexes by their coloring. Among the Eclectus parrot, the females tend to be the most colorful, although the males have the most varied markings, which change by subspecies.
The female Eclectus parrot has a red head and breast. Her wings feathers are also red, but are usually a darker shade. The nape of her neck, and her belly, may be purple or blue in color, and her tail is almost always edged with a brilliant orange color. Female Eclectus parrots have black beaks, and their eyes are usually yellow, with a blue ring.
The male Eclectus parrots main color is green. He will have a varying shade of green on his wing coverts, with red patches on his breast. He will also have red coloring under his wings. The male’s tail feathers are usually black with yellow edges. The male beak is not black like the females. Instead, it is a yellow color, with a varying shade of yellow on the tip. His lower mandible is black, and he has orange eyes.
In spite of having similar base coloring, from one Eclectus parrot to another, each bird has a unique look. If you own more than one bird, you will easily be able to tell them apart from each other.
As mentioned, different subspecies have slightly different coloring. For example, the smaller subspecies of male Eclectus parrots have more red than the larger subspecies. The males may also have different markings, from one subspecies to another, but all male beaks resemble the colors found in candied corn.
As observed, if you know the different colorings of these beautiful birds, you won’t have any trouble distinguishing between the sexes. While the females are more colorful, some people prefer the green coloring of the male, over the red coloring of the females.
Before you decide that you like the female coloring better than the males, however, you will be wise to consider common personality traits between the two sexes. Overall, females are dominant over males, and this also means that they have the potential to be more aggressive than the males. While all Eclectus parrots are fairly calm and serene, if you are seeking the calmest possible bird, you will most likely want to go with a male, instead of the more aggressive female. Then again, you may want one of each, just for the color variances.
Meeting Up With Other Eclectus Parrot Owners

- Image by Jad_23 via Flickr
Eclectus parrots are remarkable birds. In fact, these are the most popular captive birds in existence. As a new owner of an Eclectus parrot, you probably have lots of questions. Luckily, because these birds are so popular, you won’t have any trouble finding other owners.
For most pets, you would contact a national or local organization to connect with other owners. However, there has only been one such organization formed for Eclectus parrots, and this organization actually serves Eclectus parrot breeders. It is called the Eclectus Parrot Group, and it was formed in 2000. Just because the group was established for breeders, this doesn’t mean that you can’t obtain loads of information from the group site, located at http://www.eclectusgroup.org/, or that you can’t connect with breeders, who are also essentially owners.
For that matter, you can talk to the breeder that you’ve worked with to obtain your Eclectus parrot as well. They will be an invaluable source of information, and of course they can put you in touch with other people who have purchased birds through them.
Online forums have also proven to be an invaluable resource for Eclectus parrot owners. Your first visit should be to the Parrot Forum, at http://www.parrotforums.com. Here, the forum is divided by species, making it very easy to connect specifically with Eclectus parrot owners. Overall, the Parrot Forums has over 1800 members.
Your next stop should be the Eclectus Parrots Forum, at http://eclectusparrots.proboards79.com/. This forum isn’t as big as the last, in terms of members, but it is a friendly board, with a close knit group. You can learn a great deal here, and make new friends who share your interest along the way.
The Bird Board is also a good choice, at http://www.birdboard.com/forum/eclectus/. This forum is much like Parrot Forums, where the board is divided into different species, and there is a specific forum for Eclectus parrot owners. This is probably one of the most active boards, and it seems that there is always someone online reading the posts and making new ones.
You might want to consider starting a private Eclectus parrot club in your area as well, if there isn’t one. Talk to your breeder to find out if there are enough owners in the area to make this worth the effort. Start contacting owners, and get other owners to help you organize the club. Club expenses can easily be covered by membership contributions or dues.
By connecting with other eclectic parrot owners, you will learn a great deal about your own bird. You can quickly and easily get answers to your important questions without calling the veterinarian in the middle of the night. Of course, the added value of lifelong friendships with people who share your passion for beautiful Eclectus parrots is just another reason to start getting in touch.
Parrot Adoption

- Image by SabrinaB via Flickr
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Uchegbu_Ikenna]Uchegbu Ikenna
Many of people desire to adopt parrot because of its uniqueness. They are very brilliant and entertaining. What surprises people most are how these birds can talk? Because of these unique qualities they have, it attracts a lot of attention from people. Parrot adoption today is enormous. One can adopt parrot whether he/she is rich or poor.
Many people choose parrot adoption simply because they need companion while other wants to take care of it and be entertained while doing so. there are many organizations that will give you information’s on Parrot adoption .These organizations will tell you the advantages and disadvantages in adopting parrots just as it is in the case of child adoption.
One of the disadvantages will be the cost of taking care of a parrot. This is why the organization do not play with their job to make sure that the processes of parrot adoption is completed before the adopter will take it home. However, after checking on the person that is seeking to adopt and the home in which the parrot will live the organization will know how ready they are in taking care of the parrot, before the parrot will be handed over to them. Before one can decide on adopting a parrot, he has to research well to know how easy or difficult the process can be.
Anybody that has made up his mind to adopt parrot must prove beyond reasonable doubt to be qualify for it. At times the prospective parrot adopters are required to under go some serious training before they could adopt. Most of these training are very important to help the adopters know how to take care of them and the best food that suits parrot most.
It important to note that the parrot adoption organization can only approve the parrot adoption if they know that the people asking after the parrot can truly take care of it. If they find out that you are not suitable for adopting their parrot, they will more likely make it a formal contract that will have to be signed in other to ensure the protection of their parrot.
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Different Breeds of Eclectus Parrots

- Image via Wikipedia
Just as the Eclectus parrot is a breed of parrots as a whole, there are numerous different breeds of the Eclectus parrot, known as subspecies. These subspecies are identified by their colors, marking, and their size. There are currently ten different subspecies of the Eclectus parrot.
These subspecies include the Eclectus Roratus Roratus, the Eclectus Roratus Vasmaeri, the Eclectus Roratus Westermani, the Eclectus Roratus Cornelia, the Eclectus Roratus Riedeli, the Eclectus Roratus polychloros, the Eclectus Roratus Biak, the Eclectus Roratus Aruensis, the Eclectus Roratus Macgillivrayi, and the Eclectus Roratus Solomonensis.
Each of these subspecies come from different geographic locations. For example, the Eclectus Roratus Roratus, known as the Grand Eclectus, comes from Southern Moluccas. The Eclectus Roratus Vosmaeri comes from both northern and central Moluccas. The Eclectus Roratus Westermani comes from breeders, and is basically a sample specimen. You can think of him as a mixed breed.
When the subspecies are written or spoken, instead of spelling or saying Eclectic Roratus, the general reference is just E.R. Therefore, the E.R. Cornelia comes from Sumba and Lesser Sumba Islands. The E.R Riedeli comes from Tanimbar Island. The E.R Polychloros, known as the Red-Sided Eclectus, comes from New Guinea and Indonesia. The E.R Biak got his name because he came from the Biak Islands. The E.R. Aruensis comes from the Aru Islands. The E.R. Macgillivrayi comes from the Cape York Peninsula in Australia, and the E.R. Solomonensis comes from Admiralty Island, Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands.
Again, the coloring plays a big role, not only in the different subspecies, but also in telling the difference between males and females. Experts agree that the Eclectus parrot species, as a whole, is the most color dimorphic bird in the entire world. As base colors, all female Eclectus parrots are a bright red, while the males are green. It is the difference in the color patterns, and color variations in the wings that set the subspecies apart. Size also comes into play, although none of the subspecies will be bigger than fifteen inches, or smaller than twelve inches. Other than these differences, everything else is generally the same.
When you start searching for a breeder, be sure to ask which subspecies of Eclectus parrots they breed. If they can’t give you an answer, move on to a different breeder. Also, as soon as you know what subspecies they have, read up on that particular subspecies to learn more about them. Generally, only breeders refer to their Eclectus parrots by their various subspecies. Those who simply love these birds, but do not breed them, refer to them simply as Eclectus, Eclectus parrots, or parrots.
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