Prague Zoo welcomes first orange-breasted fig parrot chick bred in Czechia
Prague Zoo has scored a rare breeding success, becoming the first in Czechia to breed the orange-breasted fig parrot. The tiny, colourful species is notoriously difficult to breed in captivity and is kept at only three other institutions in Europe. I discussed the achievement with the zoo’s bird curator, Antonín Vaidl.
For those who have never seen an orange-breasted fig parrot, what does it look like and where does it live in the wild?
"It's a very small parrot that lives in the lowland forests of Papua New Guinea and on offshore islands like Salawati.
"It's really small, just about 11 to 12 centimetres long and weighing around 30 grams. So it's similar to a budgie, but shorter, without the long tail.
"It's also a very colourful bird with a really nice mask, because it has black stripes on its face and a very colourful orange breast. But there is also sexual dimorphism, so the female has just the orange face, which makes her easy to recognise. It's a very colourful and tiny parrot."
Prague Zoo is the first zoo in Czechia to breed this species, which is kept at only three other institutions in Europe. Why is it so difficult to breed these parrots?
"It's a very sensitive parrot when it comes to the quality of food and also the climate, including high temperatures and high humidity.
"We keep these parrots in an exhibit we call Parrot Trail. There is one breeding pair there, but this pair hasn't succeeded yet. We also have two pairs behind the scenes in our house, which is in the Indonesian jungle.
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"Every year, we provide them with a tropical climate and wooden nest boxes that are completely filled with cork, because they need to make the nesting holes themselves. This is very important for getting them started with breeding.
"So this is a very sensitive bird. They also need fresh figs every day, because figs contain vitamin K, which is very important for blood. We also sometimes provide vitamin K artificially."
The chick hatched at the end of May. How is it doing now, and why is it so remarkable that its parents have raised it so successfully?
"We are very surprised that the parrots bred so successfully the first time. We have been interested in fig parrots since 1997, when we got our first one, which was imported from the wild.
"So we have been involved in breeding fig parrots for almost 30 years, and I think we have quite a lot of experience. We started breeding this species just four years ago, and we got our first birds from a bird park in Germany.
"This pair started breeding for the first time in the spring, so we didn't expect them to be successful. But they incubated the fertile eggs themselves and were also able to raise the chick successfully.
"So it was quite a surprise for us, because in our experience, most birds lose several chicks or eggs during their first breeding attempt."
Finally, when will visitors be able to see the young parrot? What needs to happen before it can go on display?
"Currently, the fig parrot has already been separated from the breeding pair because it's a male, which we can recognise by the orange dots on its breast. It is starting to develop its adult plumage, and the father is beginning to become a little aggressive because this is a very territorial species.
"So we have already had to move the chick to the next aviary, close to its parents. We will see how things develop. We are expecting that the same pair may breed again, and then, I think, perhaps in the spring, we will move the bird to the exhibition area.
"But visitors can already see another, very similar pair of this species in our exhibit."
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