What interests me is...with Australia's very strict import regulations on avian species - where did they get them from? Is it a vagrant species to Cape York Peninsula?
it is a common bird in private aviculture in Australia, and has been for many many decades. At a guess I'd presume they started off as a zoo bird and bred so well they entered the private scene.
it wouldn't surprise me if Sir Edward Hallstrom imported them at the same time as he was bringing in Birds of Paradise. This was before the 1948 ban on birds.
Ah yes, i remember mention of Edward Hallstrom from my days as an aviculturist. Wasn't there an exhibit in one of the zoos named after him?..could be mistaken.
