Mini portrait: Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot

In this photo of a male Timor Red-winged Parakeet (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus), you can see that this species is not experienced as brightly coloured as the much more well-known species of Red-winged parakeet that comes from Australia, etc. You thus better understand the common English species name "Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot”.

Olive-shouldered Parrot, or the Jonquil Parrot (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus), is one of 2 species belonging to the genus Aprosmictus. While most aviculturists know the larger Red-winged Parrot from Australia (Aprosmictus erythropterus, which also includes a total of 3 subspecies), very few know the Olive-shouldered Parrot. You can compare it to the fact that the Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) also has a "little brother" in the form of a "Timor version", namely the Timor Sparrow, also called Timor Dusky Sparrow (Padda fuscata), as well as the one in captivity widespread Australian Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), also has a small "Timor version" in the form of the Timor Zebra Finch, also called Sunda Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

The nominate form of the Olive-shouldered Parrot is the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus), which is native to Indonesia on the island of Timor (East Timor) and Roti Island (or Rote Island) southwest of East Timor. In addition, there is a subspecies, the Wetar Olive-shouldered Parrot (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus wetterensis), which was first discovered approximately 70 years later on Wetar Island, which is a considerably smaller island northeast of Timor (East Timor) or Lesser Sundas.

The Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot has always been rare among aviculturists, and it has hardly been in demand either, as its colour splendor cannot at all match the larger Australian Red-winged Parrot's colour splendor. In English, the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot was previously referred to as "Timor Crimson-winged Parrakeet" or "Timor Red-winged Parrot".

Timor Red-winged Parakeets (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus).

The photos in the middle and on the right are from the internet.

Male and female look alike, but the female lacks the blue spot on the back and has almost no red in the wing, as the red color of the outer secondaries is edged with yellow. In addition, the female's iris is brown/orange, while the male's iris is pure orange. The young resemble the female, but appear darker above the wings, as the lesser wing-coverts and median wing-coverts are green, and the eyes are pale brown.

In the subspecies from Wetar, the male resembles the nominate form, but the inner lesser and median wing-coverts are green mixed with yellow. Upper back and upper part of the back are paler green and with a smaller blue spot. In addition, there is also less red on the outer median wing-coverts and secondaries, and the bird itself is smaller. The female of the subspecies also resembles the female of the nominate form, but the upper wing-coverts have a darker green color and the female bird is also slightly smaller. In young birds belonging to the subspecies, the upper wing-coverts are also darker green, and the birds are also smaller.

In summary, one can say that the subspecies from Wetar is thus smaller than the nominate form (the length of the nominate form is approximately 34 cm, where the subspecies is approximately 31 cm) and has less red in the wing feathers, which are also without a yellowish tinge and of the same green colour as the back.

Timor Red-winged Parakeets (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus), adult male bird.

In the wild, the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot is found at up to 2,600 meters altitude in tropical monsoon forest, on Acacia savannah, on lightly wooded cultivated land and in bushland. On the island of Wetar, where the subspecies lives, it is most often found along wide rivers, where it typically forages in evergreen trees and shrubby trees of the genus Casuarina.

While the Australian Red-winged Parrot is not threatened in the wild (it is categorized as of "Least Concern"), BirdLife International states that the situation for the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot is quite different. Formally, BirdLife International has categorized the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot as "Near Threatened", i.e. almost threatened, due to the assumption that the population is small and continues to decline, which is probably related to hunting and destruction of forest areas as well as an unsustainable exploitation of nature in its range. To this day, little is still known about the size and structure of the natural population and the concrete threats to this species. It is estimated that there are approximately 6,700 mature individuals left in the wild, but where the population has previously been assessed as being stable, further information indicates that the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot over the last approximately 15 years have become more threatened than first assumed and the development trend is decreasing. The situation is probably exacerbated by the fact that back in the period 1981 - 1985, 1,343 Timor Olive-shouldered Parrots were officially traded, which were exported from Indonesia.

During recent surveys (in 2009) on the island of Wetar, this bird was observed less often than most other bird species with a limited distribution area on the island.

BirdLife International estimates the total range of the species to be 61,500 m2.

The species is classified under CITES list II, and "zero quotas" were introduced in the 1990’s, where there was uncertainty about the size of the natural population, but the quotas have not been respected.

Forward-looking nature protection measures for the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot include the intention to revise the estimate of the extent of the natural population and assess the development of the trade in this species. Thereby, an attempt will be made to uncover whether the decline in the natural population is still evident. In addition, an attempt will be made to protect areas with suitable natural habitats.

Many years ago I took this photo (as a colour slide) of a Timor Red-winged Parakeet - its name at that time - (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus) at a very knowledgeable member of the Vestegnens Fugleforening. Since then, I have only seen it alive at 2 aviculturists in Denmark, of which one aviculturist had quite a few pairs of them.

Very little is still known about this species in the wild, but it is assumed that its way of life and behavior is similar to that of the Red-winged Parrot, i.e. that it is relatively passive outside the breeding season, but very lively during the breeding season, when the male bird typically can become very aggressive and chase the female, which can turn out very badly. In the case of the Red-winged Parrot, I have therefore previously chosen to combine a young male with a female who has been significantly older than the male, which has given very good breeding results.

The first time I saw the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot in Denmark was as a youngster with a very experienced bird keeper from Vestegnens Fugleforening (a local bird association). This bird can be seen in the photo above, which is from an older date. The photo is originally a colour slide that I have digitized, hence the reduced image quality.

Jorgen Petersen

Conceived/Updated: 30.09.2012 / 11.01.2024 

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Here is the best-known species of the Red-winged parakeet (Aprosmictus erythropterus erythropterus), which comes from Australia. You can see the much larger red wing mirror on this male, which stands out even stronger as it borders the black areas on the upper back and the back itself, which brings out the contrasts. This species has further 2 subspecies, one of which does not come from the Australian continent at all, but strangely enough comes from New Guinea. This subspecies is primarily characterized by being quite a bit smaller, and that the black "cap" on the back is not so intensively black.