The eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) is a parrot native to the Solomon
Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia
and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is unusual in the parrot family
for its extreme sexual dimorphism of the colours of the plumage; the
male having a mostly bright emerald green plumage and the female a
mostly bright red and purple/blue plumage. Joseph Forshaw, in his book
Parrots of the World, noted that the first European ornithologists to
see eclectus parrots thought they were of two distinct species. Large
populations of this parrot remain, and they are sometimes considered
pests for eating fruit off trees. Some populations restricted to
relatively small islands are comparably rare. Their bright feathers are
also used by native tribes people in New Guinea as decorations.
