Red-bellied Parrot

Scientific name: Poicephalus rufiventris

Description:
   Red-Bellied Parrots are beautiful birds, with a visible difference between the males and females. The females are gray with a deep forest green belly. The males are gray on the back with olive in their wings, a brilliant red belly, neck, and forehead, and lime green stockings on their legs. The irises of their eyes are red and can be changed in width at will, depending on how interested the bird is in what he's looking at.
   These birds can reach up to 8 1/2" (22 cm).

Distribution:
   Red-Bellied Parrots originate in the savannahs of Eastern Africa.
   They live in the brush and feed off of the acacia fruit. This particular fruit hangs upside-down in a bell fashion, so that the only way for the red belly to get to the yummy fruit inside is, you guessed it, to hang upside down and crane his head around to get the fruit. No wonder they spend so much of their out of the cage time upside down!

Housing:
  The question of housing is always difficult to answer, as a clipped bird will need less space than a flighted bird. The minimum cage requirement for a clipped bird is a 20 x 20 cage, with horizontal bars on at least two sides for easy climbing. Of course the larger the cage the better as your bird will have a wonderful time with the extra space and toys.
   Place the cage in a part of the house where you and other humans in your life spend a great deal of time. These birds are very social, living in colonies in the wild, and will often whistle or call your name through the house to find out where you are if you are not in sight. The Red-Bellied Parrot prefers to be near the center of the household and where they can be closest to you.

To learn more about housing see: Basic Bird Care: Housing

Care and feeding:
   Red Bellied parrots enjoy a varied diet, including a seed mix with safflower, and many fresh fruits and vegetables. Formulated diets should only be fed as a supplement, not as the only food, but they can be fun when they come in a variety of different flavors. Red-Bellied Parrots enjoy many fruits and vegetables, including corn, peas, spinach, parsley, fresh peppers, green beans, carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, and more. Feed all vegetables fresh or frozen, but never canned. Some may also enjoy dried red hot chili peppers. Be aware of avocados, however, feeding these to your birds are toxic and can very well kill them.

To learn more about feeding see: Basic Bird Care: Feeding

Social Behaviors:
   These birds are extremely social and will often show off for company, letting everyone know what new words, whistles, and phrases they have added to their vocabulary; sometimes without you having ever heard them before. If you Red-Bellied Parrot gets regular time out of the cage, it will be more willing to try relationships with more people, and, indeed, other animals.
   As with any bird, if your Red-Bellied Parrot's wings are clipped, they are much easier to train. This also increases its dependence upon you, relying on your hand to be the 'elevator' to where it wants to go.

Handling/Training:
   These birds are very easily trained. Your laughter is the strongest training tool imaginable for your bird. He will learn that a particular behavior pleases you, and if you say a particular phrase every time he does that behavior, he will quickly learn to associate the phrase with the behavior. One day he will surprise you doing the behavior when you say the phrase; or, if he does it on his own, saying the phrase while he does it. They are eager to please and live to make you happy.

Activities:
   Red-Bellied Parrots are very interested in anything they can do with their humans. They enjoy toys with bells, and will ring them to get your attention. They will show off by dangling upside down off of the roof of their cage, often by only one toe! Many birds love to look out the window and perches can be bought that are designed with suction cups to attach to the window. Any moving object outside will interest your bird greatly, and he will have his beak pressed to the window for as long as you permit him.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Red-Bellied Parrots are sexually mature at two years of age, though many pairs won't start reproducing until they are four years of age.They are dimorphic with the females being gray with a deep forest green belly while the males have a bright red belly.
   The average clutch size is three to four eggs. The clutch takes an average of 26 days in incubation and the eggs hatch a day or two apart. Suggested band size for the red belly is from a 9 to a 10.

Availability:
   The Red-Bellied Parrot belly is becoming more and more steadily available, though can still be a bit tricky to find. They range in price from $400 to $600 and can be found in some pet stores and through breeders.