Despite previously being very commonly available in bird shops all the way from the west coast to the east coast, due largely to a constant supply of legally trapped birds coming from their home range in Western Australia, the Red-capped Parrot's status in Australian aviaries is certainly no longer what it once was. Back then, a couple of decades ago, they carried a reputation of being a very flighty bird that rarely settled well, but could we have really expected anything else? Considering that most birds on offer at the time stemmed from this legal trapping of wild birds.
During this period, only hand reared birds were considered desirable, as they were much more settled in the aviary, though not all stayed tame. However, at this time I don't recall there being many hand reared birds available, as many breeders struggled to achieve success with the wild caught birds that were on offer. I believe that there is no doubt that the species suffered in Australian aviculture as a result of this, I feel, somewhat unfairly awarded negative reputation.
This species is undoubtedly beautiful, with a colour scheme not unlike that of a rainbow, they are eye catching to say the least. I would love to get a better understanding of their current status in Australian aviaries - are they still held in good numbers? Are breeders having good and regular breeding success with them? Are hand reared young still preferable over parent reared stock?
