Large fig parrot

Large fig parrot
Psittaculirostris desmarestii occidentalis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittaculidae
Genus:	Cyclopsitta
Species:	C. desmarestii
Binomial name
Cyclopsitta desmarestii (Desmarest, 1826)
Synonyms
Psittaculirostris desmarestii

The large fig parrot (Cyclopsitta desmarestii), also known as flame-headed fig parrot and Desmarest's fig parrot, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is found in the West Papuan Islands, Indonesia and in southern and western New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). ^[2]

Description

It has a red to orange cap, a light blue eye patch below its eye, yellow face, pale turquoise ring tinged with red, grey-black bill and green body. Male and female adults are identical in external appearance and juveniles tend to have duller colours on the head, but otherwise resemble adults. ^[2]

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognised: ^[3]

• C. d. blythii Wallace, AR, 1864 – Misool (Raja Ampat Islands, off western New Guinea)
• C. d. occidentalis (Salvadori, AT, 1876) – Salawati and Batanta Islands, western Bird's Head Peninsula, and Onin Peninsula (northwestern New Guinea)
• C. d. desmarestii (Desmarest, A-G, 1826) – western New Guinea (eastern regions of Bird's Head Peninsula)
• C. d. godmani (Ogilvie-Grant, WR, 1911) – southern lowlands of western and central New Guinea (Mimika River to Fly River)
• C. d. cervicalis (Salvadori, AT & d'Albertis, LM, 1876) – southeastern New Guinea (Fly River to far eastern Papua New Guinea)

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Psittaculirostris desmarestii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T22725599A94896928. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22725599A94896928.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Forshaw (2006). plate 28.
3. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi: 10.2173/avilist.v2025 . Retrieved 9 November 2025.

• World Parrot Trust Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profile

Cited texts

• Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide . Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. ISBN   0-691-09251-6.