Fig parrots (Cyclopsittini) are a small
tribe of Australasian
parrots in the family
Psittaculidae, made up of five species in two
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
(''
Cyclopsitta
''Cyclopsitta'' is a genus of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It contains two species:
The genus name ''Cyclopsitta'' is a combination of the Greek name of the mythical Cyclops (a race of one-eyed Sicilian giants, whose name is a combinati ...
'' and ''
Psittaculirostris''). Fig parrots are found on and around the island of
New Guinea, within the territories of
Indonesia,
Papua New Guinea, and tropical
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
[
]
Description
Fig parrots are small, stocky, arboreal parrots with short, wedge-shaped tails. They possess proportionately large, broad bills and smooth tongues. Sexual dimorphism is typically pronounced, with the exception of Coxen's fig parrot
Coxen's fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni''), also known as the blue-browed, red-faced or southern fig parrot or lorilet, is one of the smallest and least known Australian parrots. It is a highly endangered subspecies of the double-ey ...
(''Cyclopsitta diopthalma coxeni''). Those in the genus ''Cyclopsitta'' are generally smaller than those in ''Psittaculirostris''.[
Their preferred habitats are the tropical and subtropical rainforests, though they can also be found foraging in the surrounding biomes. They can usually be seen flying swiftly in straight lines, well above the tree canopy.][
Their diets consist mainly of fruit, particularly their namesake figs. They may supplement these with a variety of other fruits and berries, along with nectar, pollen, insects, and larvae. Fig parrots appear to be capable of detecting the fig ]syconia
Syconium (plural ''syconia'') is the type of inflorescence borne by figs (genus ''Ficus''), formed by an enlarged, fleshy, hollow receptacle with multiple ovaries on the inside surface. In essence, it is really a fleshy stem with a number of flow ...
that have been implanted with growing fig wasps, and targeting these for their extra nutritional content. They remember particular fruit trees, and return to them repeatedly over months and years.
Taxonomy
The fig parrot group was first proposed in 1891 at family rank, as Cyclopsittacidae, from the type genus ''Cyclopsitta''.Loriinae
Loriinae is a subfamily of psittacine birds, one of the five subfamilies that make up the family Psittaculidae. It consists of three tribes, the lories and lorikeets ( Loriini), the budgerigar ( Melopsittacini) and the fig parrots ( Cyclopsittin ...
.
Tribe Cyclopsittini
See also
* Blue-fronted fig parrot
The blue-fronted fig parrot, also referred to as the blue-browed fig parrot, is a putative undescribed fig parrot said to inhabit the rugged rainforest-covered border ranges of subtropical south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales ...
References
Parrots
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