in captivity, where they constantly seek possible nesting places, climbing into cupboards, drawers, and spaces beneath furniture, and becoming very possessive and defensive of these locations. An unpaired hen may go on to lay infertile eggs with little encouragement in the spring. It is often possible to place abandoned eggs from other parrot species beneath a broody eclectus hen, which she will readily accept and then incubate to the point of hatching, even rearing the hatched chick up to the point it is removed from the nest. Adult females with poor nest hollows often commit infanticide on the male, if they produce both a male and a female chick. Inadequate nest hollows have a habit of flooding in heavy rain, drowning the chicks or eggs inside. This reported infanticide in wild pairs may be the result of other causes, since this behavior where the hen selectively kills male chicks is not observed in captive birds. Aviculture Moluccan eclectus parrots are one of the more popular birds kept in captivity, as either parent or hand reared. Unlike many other species of parrot they are relatively easy to breed yet difficult to hand feed. Moluccan eclectus are generally calm birds in captivity, displaying a pensive affect when faced with novel items or situations, which may give rise to the mistaken impression that the species is 'dull-witted'. The eclectus may also exhibit more neophobia than other species of companion bird. Eclectus parrots are prone to feather destruction (picking, pulling, cutting, and / or barbing) in captivity. The subspecies E. r. vosmaeri is the most commonly kept in aviculture over all, The average lifespan of the Moluccan eclectus in captivity is unknown, since these birds were not kept in captivity in great numbers until the 1980s. Some sources consider the lifespan to be 30 years. The maximum reliably recorded longevity for this species is 28.5 years, but a lifespan of 40.8 years has also been reported. Moluccan eclectus in captivity are prone to "toe tapping" - characterized by involuntary extension and contractions of the muscles of the feet that cause the bird to constantly tap its toenails against a perch. It is believed to be related to bird's diet and may be a result of providing the eclectus with food fortified with vitamins, processed food intended for humans (particularly containing man-made vitamins or preservatives) or food containing spirulina. References External links BirdLife Species Factsheet