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Jardines Parrot
Jardines parrot or Poicephalus gulielmi are one of the best looking of all African parrots. As their behavior is good, they are preferred as pet over several other species of pets. They come from Central Africa, ranging from Cameroon, Angola east to south west Uganda. They are large in size than the other Poicephalus species not including, the Cape parrot.
The body of Jardines parrot is bright green with red rings just about the bottoms of their leg feathers. On their foreheads, you can see splashes of red and orange color with yellow on a mature bird. The baby parrots have a suggestion of red color over the beak where the feathers on the head begin. Their wings have black edges. They have a white patch around eyes.
Jardines parrots are generally darker green and are stockier than most of the other subspecies, with a larger beak. They are mostly recognized by the good amount of red or orange color on the forehead that extends in the crown. It also marks the thighs and fore edges of the wings in the large areas.
Jardine's are sweet natured, at times they are cuddly but generally they are a little feisty at times. As an owner, you need to give them good training to keep them from being the dominating one.
As the Jardine’s parrot live in the lowland rain forest and mountain cloud forest, they are believed to be feeding on wild food. They are seen to come down to the edges of the forest in the day time, to look for alternative food and going back to the canopy in the dusk time. In the wild, they feed on wild olives, fruits of Podocarpus and Ceddrus and also the Spathodea pods seeds.
As a pet in your home, you should give small seeds, vegetables along with multi vitamins and mineral supplements to your bird. These birds tend to get deficient in Calcium and vitamin A. Good pellet diets should be given constituting at least half of the diet, if not the whole diet.
Jardine’s parrot does become excellent pets as they are larger than others and are more like an Amazon type bird. Their voice is melodious and they are very sweet natured. They get mingled with the whole family, and not just one person or any other. If trained, they can become good talkers.
If you are interested in the breeding of Jardine’s parrot, it is important to note here that they should be at least 5 years old. These birds can be winter breeders. In her cage, put a nest box made of 6 mm ply. The most preferred size of the cage is 24 inches high 12 inches square hung vertically. It should have a mesh ladder for the birds to ascent up and down.
Jardine’s Parrot has more of a playful nature and thus it requires lots of toys to play, attack and chew so that they do not become bored. They are funny birds, play with all family members and are real entertainers being a great joy for you to have.