What kind of ekkie is he?

[quakingcanopy]

This is Darwin - He's in pretty rough feather. He was clipped very unevenly so his wings aren't laying correctly, and he has dark stress rings all over. Plus, he hasn't been on an ideal diet for very long but thankfully really likes fruits and veggies and mash!

So, help me figure out what species he is, if you can?
He has a small bald ring around his eye, his eyes are almond shaped (not really round like a VOS).
He has light green/yellow tips to his tail feathers, but they are not blue like a VOS. They are dark green, almost black with the light tips.
He weighs about 260-300 grams, not very big.

 

[Saemma]

No idea about what species.. but what a sweet face..

 

[sodakat]

Judging by his weight alone, I'd say he is a Solomon Island. He is very light for any subspecies if he does weight 260. So good that he has a good appetite. Feed him as much as he will eat.

He also looks like a Solomon to me, regardless of his weight. If you take him into direct sunlight you will notice that his head is a bit lighter color than his body feathers. That is a Solomon identifier as well as darker orange eyes than a Vos, and of course the much smaller size.

Did you add him to your flock, or are you fostering him or what? He looks pretty good overall to me. When his wing primaries moult you'll find that his wing tips reach almost to the end of his tail feathers. That too is indicative of him being a Solomon.

Since you are giving him a much better diet, you can expect to see him being moulting very soon!

 

[quakingcanopy]

After looking at pictures of both species (several hundred) I agree he is a Solomon. His eyes are much darker then the (much BIGGER) 8 year old male VOS who was at the rescue. His head is lighter then his body and whoever clipped his wings left the last two primary flight feathers (the person who surrendered him did this about 2 months ago) and they are very very long, they cross behind him and are almost as long as his tail. I did not even know that identifier, so that's very interesting!

He is a foster, but we can adopt him if we decide. My husband likes him more and more each minute and the rescue was very happy with how he and I interact (and the diet I feed) and would love too see him stay here. Can't say I object

 

[Birdiemarie]

Here's some nice comparisons of males:
The Eclectus Parrot - Graham Taylor (Australia)

 

[quakingcanopy]

Excellent link Marie, thank you!

I'm wrong on his weight, I'm sure. Grapefruit is around 260g, and he seems bigger. I will have to get his weight soon.

 

[sodakat]

I just thought of something else after reading your thread about visiting the rescue and not knowing his age. You mentioned that his eyes were "darker" than those of the Vos male you saw. Do you mean the iris or do you mean that they still pretty much look black? Because if you can see any iris color at all, he is probably closer to 2. If his eyes look completely black then he could be about a year old. If you can see quite a bit of color (orangeish) when he pins his eyes, he may be between 2 and 3.

 

[quakingcanopy]

You can see a very fine, orange iris. So perhaps closer to 2? Plus there is no black on his beak, so at least over 1. Of course they do the best they can but only know what they're told by the person surrendering the bird.

 

[Bokkapooh]

No clue on subspecies, but he is a real cutie for sure!! And a bath will do him wonders!!

 

[CarmieJo]

His weight makes me think SI but he has the Red Sided beak. He could be a cross. We were told by the seller that Howard is a RS although I have been asked if he is a Vos.

18 months old

2 years old

2 years old

A good shot of his wings

4 years old eye and beak

 

[quakingcanopy]

Aw Howard is stunning!!

 

[Pumpkin]

Hi Howard.

 

[sodakat]

I recently learned from Laurella and two other breeders, that there are the smaller SI males with lighter beaks, like my LaFitte and also stockier SI males with darker beaks. It has to do with the island of origin in the Solomon chain apparently. Those birds from islands furthest from New Guinea are smaller.

The adult male SI I bought from Laurella this year has a darker upper beak than I've seen on SI males, btw, very similar to Darwin's.

I think the rounded head and wing tip length in relation to tail indicate Darwin is SI. But, I get it wrong a LOT.

Howard is such a gorgeous bird. His eye color and head shape, to me, do indicate RS. How much does he weigh?

 

[CarmieJo]

Howard is about 460-470. He has been stable at that weight for a few months. He just turned 4 so I am thinking that he may be at his permanent adult weight.

 

[jmfleish]

Wow! 260 to 300 grams is SMALL! Does he seem skinny? Can you feel his keel? The Grands are the smallest of the four sub species that are easily available here in the states but I'm not very familiar with them. I'm not an expert at all on sub species but man his beak looks dark which is more indicitive of the Red Sided...but that weight is definitely not an RS weight.

What Kathy said about the smaller SIs is interesting, I've never heard that. Regrdless, he's pretty handsome and I agree that a good diet will get him molting and looking good in no time.

 

[quakingcanopy]

I really do think I have his weight wrong. I estimated because he seemed close to Grapefruits size but now that I've seen them in my house (not after a few hrs of driving and so much excitement my ability to estimate was broken!!) I think he is closer to 400. I can't handle him enough to weigh yet. He is not tiny by any means, a bit bigger then my Galah who weighs 265 gms. But he is still much smaller then the VOS at the rescue (have pictures of them side by side).