Smart, beautiful and clever may be your definition of the perfect mate; it is also just the start of what makes the Eclectus Parrot so fascinating. Today we’ll earn more in this edition of Pet Pointers.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

The Eclectus Parrot is a very popular bird kept as a pet in the US. They are native to the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and nearby islands as well as northeastern Australia.

Adhearing to a strict diet is very important to the health of the Eclectus Parrot. They are unable to digest the lactose in milk and as with all pet birds, they should not be fed avocado, chocolate, or high fat junk foods such as french fries or commercially processed human foods.

To keep them happy healthy in captivity they require a diet high in fiber and beta-carotene that includes, cooked sweet potato, commercial millet, fruit such as mangos, figs and bananas, as well as leafy greens like dandelion and a few nuts like shelled almonds or walnuts.

The captive Eclectus can be susceptible to muscle spasms known as toe-tapping and wing flipping. Many bird experts believe the cause is a chemical imbalance. Foods that are fortified or artificially colored may also cause allergic reaction including severe itchiness leading to feather loss and skin damage.

Unlike many other types of parrots where the sexes are hard to tell apart, male and female Ecletus Parrots are very different males are a brilliant emerald green and females are bright red.

Scientists believe their extreme differences are to assist in breeding and survival. Males being green blend into the environment for protection against predators. With females being red, mates locate her more easily the color also helps to hide her in the darkness of a hollow tree when nesting on eggs.

In the wild these birds fly from tree to tree so giving them plenty of space is important.

The Eclectus parrot needs a lot of room to be happy and should have a large Macaw cage with lots of fun toys and places to climb.