First Rearing of an Orange-Breadsted Fig Parrot in Czech Zoos

The orange-breasted fig parrot chick is a European rarity. Its sex can be determined with the naked eye thanks to the emerging orange breast patch, which is characteristic of males. Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

“The parental pair surprised us several times. First with their meticulous nesting behaviour and then by laying a healthy-looking egg. Thirdly, we were amazed to discover that the egg was actually fertile. And I am not afraid to say that, in the end, we were astonished to see them take such exemplary care of their offspring and raise it entirely naturally. This is unusual in many bird species, and in fig parrots it is all the more remarkable,” says Antonín Vaidl, Curator of Birds, adding that the chick remains in the quiet off-exhibit areas of the zoo.

An adult pair of orange-breasted fig parrots. The male (left) has orange plumage covering a larger area of the body than the female (right). Photo: Antonín Vaidl, Prague Zoo 

The little orange-breasted fig parrot hatched on 27 May after an incubation period of around 20 days. Keepers now know that it is a male. Prague Zoo has kept the smallest species of fig parrot since 2018, when it acquired its first individuals from the specialist bird park in Walsrode, Germany. They have been on view along the Parrot Trail since 2022, and a chick hatched here for the first time the following year. It died, however, the next day. The latest addition is in excellent condition and, at four months old, can now be considered almost fully reared.

The young orange-breasted fig parrot remains in the off-exhibit areas of the Indonesian Jungle pavilion, where it is thriving in temperature and humidity conditions suited to rainforest-dwelling species. Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Prague Zoo has also had success with other fig parrot species. Edwards’s fig parrots first arrived at the zoo in 1997, and more than thirty chicks have been successfully reared here, the first in 2003. The Salvadori's fig parrot in the Rákos’ House is another true rarity: within continental Europe, it can currently be seen only at Prague Zoo. Antonín Vaidl's team first succeeded in breeding this species in 2022.

An advantage of keeping several fig parrot species is the possibility of placing a chick with an experienced foster pair of another species. One chick is currently being raised this way in the zoo's off-exhibit areas: a small Edwards’s fig parrot is being cared for by foster parents, Salvadori's fig parrots. Two years ago, the situation was reversed, with an experienced pair of Edwards’s fig parrots raising a Salvadori's fig parrot chick.

Despite their common features, such as feeding behaviour in which the birds often hang upside down from branches and their diet of soft fruits rather than seeds or nuts, fig parrots are not closely related to the better-known lories and lorikeets. They do, however, share the New Guinean region as part of their range. The orange-breasted fig parrot is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species of ‘Least Concern’. This classification is most likely due in part to a lack of data and observations, because the species occurs in remote rainforest regions.

An example of interspecific foster parenting: a female Edwards’s fig parrot feeding a young Salvadori's fig parrot. This illustrative photograph was taken in 2024. Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo