Animalia Life

Psittrichas fulgidus
SUBFAMILY
Psittacinae
TAXONOMY
Banksianus fulgidus Lesson, 1830, New Guinea. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Vulturine parrot, bare-headed parrot; French: Psittrichas de Pesquet; German: Borstenkopf; Spanish: Loro Aguileсo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
18 in (46 cm); 1.4–1.6 lb (690–800 g). Large bird with grayish black plumage, red underside, bare face, and very broad tail.
DISTRIBUTION
Mountains of mainland New Guinea.
HABITAT
Foothills and lower montane forests, occasionally in adjacent lowland forest; also tall secondary growth near watercourse.
BEHAVIOR
Resident. Singly, in pairs, or small flocks seen in flight or sitting in topmost branches of tall trees; when not feeding retreats to rest in tallest trees, sometimes sitting for hours in rain or sunshine atop emergent dead limbs protruding well above surrounding canopy; does not climb, but jumps from branch to branch with jerky motion and flicking of tail. Noisy and conspicuous in flight, call-notes being heard from afar; shallow wingbeats interspersed with gliding characteristic of flight, and distinctive appearance from short tail, broad wings, and outstretched slender neck; regular flights at dusk to nighttime roosts.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds arboreally, taking soft fruits, particularly figs; also blossoms and probably nectar; seen feeding on large Freycinetia flowers. Base of bill becomes caked with fruit pulp, suggesting bare face may have evolved to prevent matting of feathers.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous. Fledged juveniles recorded in December, adults in breeding condition April–May, laying female observed in February. Nest in cavity excavated by birds in dead tree at 39 ft (12 m) above ground; egg-laying to fledging exceeded 76 days. In captivity, courtship feeding prior to laying of two eggs; incubation by female for 31 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Vulnerable. Fairly common in remote areas, but scarce or absent in accessible districts because of persistent hunting; one of the first birds to disappear following local introduction of firearms; also threatened by deforestation. Listed on CITES Appendix II.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Hunted intensely for food and feathers; skins highly prized and widely used as “bride price.”

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