“Fig parrots are extremely sensitive to the cleanliness of their food and environment. A lot of breeders have problems with this,” said bird curator Antonín Vaidl, describing the difficulty of breeding them. “They are also food specialists - they feed almost exclusively on figs, those being at various stages of maturity. That is where they get their name from. We regularly supply them with fresh figs, which are very hard to find.”

When searching for food, fig parrots often hang upside down from a branch - just as the more familiar lories do when collecting nectar. However, despite their similar habits, lories are not closely related to fig parrots. In addition to their similar way of life, they are mainly linked to them by New Guinea, where both parrot genera are found.

Prague Zoo has been breeding fig parrots since the late nineties. Above all, it has a tradition of breeding the Edward’s fig parrot. This species has already hatched over thirty chicks here, the last successful breeding was last year. Not one breeding facility in Europe manages to breed all five living species of fig parrots.

You can get to know more about fig parrots, as well as macaws, cockatoos, keas and other parrots at Prague Zoo this Saturday, 7 May, as part of the World Parrot Day celebrations. There will be special commented feeding sessions, interactive games and quiz trails for children.