The orange-breasted fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii'') is a species of

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

in the family

Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. This family has been accepted into ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World' ...

. It is found in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and western nearby islands. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The orange-breasted fig parrot is one of two species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 combinat ...

''. The generic name ''Cyclopsitta'' is from the mythical

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

and the

Modern Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...

''psitta'', meaning parrot. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''gulielmitertii'' is in honour of William III,

King of the Netherlands King of The Netherlands (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Koning der Nederlanden'') is the title of the Dutch head of state. The king serves as the Head of state, head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes the constituent nations of ...

, and is derived from the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

''Guilelmus,'' meaning William, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''tertius'', meaning third. Alternative names for the species include William's fig parrot and King of Holland fig parrot.

Subspecies

There are six recognised subspecies of the orange-breasted fig parrot. There is considerable variation between different subspecies, and many have been recognised as distinct species by some authorities. * ''C. g. melanogenia'' – Rosenberg, 1866: Also known as the dusky-cheeked fig parrot. *''C. g. gulielmitertii'' –

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), former American football linebacker * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, older brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlege ...

, 1866: The nominate subspecies, it is also known as the blue-fronted fig parrot. *''C. g. nigrifrons'' – Reichenow, 1891: Also known as the black-fronted fig parrot. *''C. g. amabilis'' – Reichenow, 1891: Also known as the creamy-breasted fig parrot. * ''C. g. suavissima'' – Sclater, 1876: *''C. g. fuscifrons'' – Salvadori, 1876:

Description

The orange-breasted parrot is primarily green with a black bill, white face with a black patch. Males have orange breasts while females have orange patches on their faces.

Distribution and habitat

It inhabits lowland forest on

, the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...

, and

Salawati Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua (formerly West Papua), Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait (a.k.a. Galowa Str ...

. It is generally found at elevations of , but can be found up to elevations of .

Behaviour and ecology

The orange-breasted fig parrot typically stays in small flocks of 6-10 individuals. It mainly inhabits the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

, but can also be found in lower stories.

Diet

Mainly feeds on fig seeds, but also on seeds of ''

Glochidion ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants, of the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 300 species, distributed from Madagascar to the P ...

'' and '' Acacia auriculaeformis''. It also eats the flower heads of Poikilospermum plants.

Breeding

It breeds from December to June. The nest is typically a hole made in an arboreal

termite mound Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of . Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas. Termite mounds usually ...

, but may also be made in

epiphytes An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

. In captivity, clutches are usually of 2 eggs, although they may be from 1-3 eggs, and the incubation period is 20-22 days, with a nestling period of 35-42 days.

Status

The orange-breasted fig parrot is listed as

least-concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. The population was estimated to be around 100,000 pairs in the late 1990s.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1272582

orange-breasted fig parrot The orange-breasted fig parrot (''Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is found in New Guinea and western nearby islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Tax ...

Birds of New Guinea

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot