The Crimson Wing Parrot

Although arguably the most beautiful and strikingly vivid members of the Parrot family, the Crimson wing is not a very common pet. It is easy to keep and has shown no ill effects when bred or kept in captivity so long as it has plenty of room to get some flying exercise.

The Male Crimson Wing Parrot is an extraordinary creature. It has a vivid green head, tail and body, jet-black upper back and shoulder, beep blue lower back and the characteristic bright crimson patch on each wing. The females are duller but still quite colorful. Their lower back tends to be a pale blue and they do not have the male’s black ‘cloak’. They also have a slight pale green ‘wash’ on their lower abdomen.
The under wings of both sexes is grey with white tips.

The Crimson Wing Parrots are very similar in size, habit and temperament to the Australian King Parrot except for their bizarre act of hanging upside down when feeding. Many, that have been bred in captivity, eventually stop doing this. They are not very fussy eaters, but do prefer pellets that are made for smaller birds such as Cockatiels.

The reason that many people may not find them suitable as pets is their love of flying. Crimson Wings need a large cage or aviary where they can exercise their wings. They are very acrobatic flyers and will put on a good display if the area allows. No matter what size area you keep them in however there are two essentials to remember. First and most importantly -heat- they must be kept warm. Their health will soon deteriorate if they are cold. Second are perches. They need as many as possible as they love to go from perch to perch and become listless and bored if restricted.

Crimson Wings usually measure between 15 and 17 inches when fully grown. They can talk and mimic as well as any other parrot, but are not as accomplished as the Amazon Parrots or the African Grey. They are very easy to train however and are not annoyingly noisy, usually keeping the high squawks for the few times they feel threatened.

They are very social birds and seem to get on well with other parrots. They like to live in pairs and a couple can often be heard ‘chattering’ to each other, especially when feeding, as though having a whispered conversation. The male can become aggressive towards the female so either go for a same sex couple or have some area where the female can be kept if the male is temperamental. This becomes more rare as the male gets older.

Crimson Wing Parrots love water, just like many others in the species. They enjoy having some where inside their cage where they can bathe and the occasional shower is a great treat.
They normally live for 30 to 50 years.

It is a shame that the amount of room these parrots need prevents many people having them as pets. They are relatively placid, normally calm and although not known as brilliant talkers are not annoying squawkers either, but it is the exotic beauty that tempts you and they would make an impressive addition to any aviary.