Moluccan King Parrot
Alisterus amboinensis
The Moluccan King Parrot (Alisterus amboinensis) is a legendary old world parrot found only in Indonesia, weighing about 153 g. The Moluccan king parrot is a parrot endemic to Peleng Island, Maluku, and West Papua in Indonesia.
About the Moluccan King Parrot
The Moluccan king parrot is a parrot endemic to Peleng Island, Maluku, and West Papua in Indonesia. It is sometimes referred to as the Ambon king parrot or Amboina king parrot, but this is potentially misleading, as it is found on numerous other islands than Ambon. The male and female are similar in appearance, with a predominantly red head and underparts, green wings, and blue back and tail. Six subspecies are recognised, but only a few of these are regular in aviculture. In the wild, it inhabits rainforests and feeds on fruits, berries, seeds and buds.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
An adult Moluccan king parrot measures 35–40 cm (14 in) in length and has a red head and chest, outer wings dull green (except in subspecies A. a. hypophonius, which are blue), mantle, lesser wing coverts and tail-coverts dark purple-blue. Tail darker blackish blue, irises orange, and the legs are dark grey. The lower mandible is blackish, and the upper mandible is orange-red with a blackish tip, except in the subspecies A. a. buruensis, where the entire bill is blackish.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, September, November, December, with peak activity in January. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Moluccan King Parrot?
- An adult Moluccan king parrot measures 35–40 cm (14 in) in length and has a red head and chest, outer wings dull green (except in subspecies A. a. hypophonius, which are blue), mantle, lesser wing coverts and tail-coverts dark purple-blue. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Moluccan King Parrot?
- The Moluccan King Parrot is a medium sized bird weighing about 153 g.
- Where can you see a Moluccan King Parrot?
- The Moluccan King Parrot is endemic to Indonesia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Moluccan King Parrot?
- The Moluccan King Parrot is most easily confused with the Papuan King Parrot and the Australian King Parrot.
- Is the Moluccan King Parrot endangered?
- The Moluccan King Parrot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Moluccan King Parrot for real
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