Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis) – Group: Blue

A magnificent male Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis), which may at first glance look like the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros), but the birds have different anatomy, which i.a. means that the former has a significantly longer tail as well as a much slimmer and more streamlined body structure. The very long tail is also only seen in the Australian Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi), and both of these subspecies are known to fly long distances in search of food. Photo from the internet.

Introduction

The subspecies name "aruensis" refers to the Aru Islands, which are its home, where it was first reported by science as far back as 1858. However, over time there has been discussion as to whether this subspecies really differs from the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros). The fact is, however, that the leading scientific taxonomy continues to hold that it is a separate subspecies, as the bird is generally larger and, by virtue of its build, appears longer and with a markedly longer tail when compared with the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros).

The Aru Red-sided Eclectus is large, and it rivals the Vosmaer's Eclectus (Eclectus roratus vosmaeri) in size. Some of the males appear to be larger than Vosmaer's Eclectus males (Eclectus roratus vosmaeri), but this is typically due to the longer tail. Vosmaer's Eclectus (Eclectus roratus vosmaeri) is generally more burly built than the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis). The main difference between the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis) and all other subspecies of Eclectus Parrots is that it has a long and narrow body structure. Its long tail gives it a "lanky" appearance. In fact, this subspecies has the longest tail for its size compared to all other types of Eclectus Parrots. Although the Australian Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi) is much larger and also has a long tail, the tail is not as proportionately long as the tail of the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis). Its streamlined, narrow appearance is also emphasized by a distinctly "lanky" neck.

Some female Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis) have blue breast feathers extending further down the breast compared to females of the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros), in addition to having a redder colour to the tail feathers.

A pair of young specimens of the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis), where you can also see the characteristic long tail and long neck, which gives this subspecies a much more slender appearance than the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros). Photo from the internet.

Colour description

Adult male: The male is very similar in colour to the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros), except that its green plumage has a lighter shade. The most definitive difference is the wide, well-defined approximately 1.3 cm wide lemon yellow edging along the tip of the long tail. The outer iris ring is of a clear almost fiery red colour.

Adult female: The female is also very similar in colour to the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros), except that its chest band has a slightly lighter shade of royal blue. It is also larger than females of the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros). The female's long tail also has a red to reddish-brown area with a broad bright red border along the tip of the tail. The edge of the tip of the tail can often show an orange-yellow tint on some individuals. A narrow eye ring of tiny blue feathers encircles the eye.

• Average length: 37 cm, according to "A Guide to ... Eclectus Parrots", revised edition from 2004, by Rob Marshall and Ian Ward (ISBN 0 9750817 0 5).
• Length: 37 cm, according to "Lexicon of Parrots" (CD version 3.0) from 2008, by Thomas Arndt (ISBN 3-9808245-3-5).

In the wild

This subspecies occurs exclusively on the Aru Islands, including Kobroor, Vokan, Dobbo and Grabu, which is the easternmost archipelago in Maluku (Moluccas) in Indonesia. These are low islands dominated by forest with mangrove areas along the coasts.

In addition, refer to the article on www.birdkeeper.dk about the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros).

Guyana is a country located in northeastern South America with a coastal area facing the Atlantic Ocean and borders with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. Guyana was formerly a British colony, known as British Guiana, and is today the only country on the South American continent that is part of the British "Commonwealth of Nations". In other words, we are also talking here about a country that is very far away from the Eclectus Parrots' natural range. However, they wanted to issue a stamp with a pair of (not subspecies determined) Eclectus Parrots as a motif, where some of its natural range is also shown on the stamp.

Threats

BirdLife International, the official "Red List" authority for birds on behalf of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), continuously assesses the status of how threatened all kinds of birds are in the wild. However, as a starting point, BirdLife International only operates at the species level and not at the subspecies level, which means that all possible subspecies, including the nominate subspecies, which together make up the species, are grouped together under this. In its descriptions and assessments, BirdLife International makes no detailed distinctions between the nominate subspecies and the other subspecies.

In addition, it must also be stated that BirdLife International uses another taxonomy than Howard & Moore, which means that the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis) is considered one of 5 subspecies of the "Red-sided Eclectus" species (Eclectus polychloros), which are treated as one by BirdLife International:

Bird Life International's current threat assessment of this species – the Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus polychloros) in nature is categorized in the "Least Concern" category. This obviously covers very large individual differences between the individual subspecies, i.a. because their distribution areas are of very different sizes. It is obvious that the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis) with its relatively small distribution area - everything else being equal - must of course be more threatened than the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus, which has a colossally large distribution area (in New Guinea, the world's second largest island, and surrounding islands).

Further reference is made to the article on www.birdkeeper.dk about the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros).

Nature protection measures

This bird is listed on CITES, Appendix II.

See also the article on www.birdkeeper.dk about the Papuan Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros).

An impressively beautiful specimen of the Aru Red-sided Eclectus (Eclectus roratus aruensis), a female bird, where you clearly can see the long tail of this subspecies, in addition to which – even though the bird sits a little compact - you can sense the more slender body structure. This subspecies is sometimes traded around Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, where fortunately there are specialist breeders who work to preserve "pure" (i.e. not cross-bred) birds of this subspecies. Photo from the internet.

In human care

The status of the Aru Red-sided Eclectus as a pure subspecies in human care is uncertain due to the fact that it has been cross-bred with other types of Eclectus Parrots and the resulting problems in identifying it.

It is rare among aviculturists in the United States, and it is likewise only represented among a few Australian aviculturists.

Over recent years, Dutch and German breeders have been successful in breeding this subspecies, and fortunately there seems to be a group of specialist breeders in these two European countries who have set out to preserve this subspecies in a "pure" (i.e. not cross-bred) version. There is also a few specimens of this subspecies in Denmark, but whether they are "pure" (i.e. not cross-bred) birds, I do not know, as I have not seen them myself.

Colour mutations

I am not aware of any colour mutations of this subspecies.

Feeding

See the section on nutrition under the article "Generally about Eclectus Parrots" and the article on the nominate subspecies, Seram Eclectus (Eclectus roratus roratus).

Jorgen Petersen

Conceived/Updated: 16.12.2011 / 01.04.2024

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