10/12/2026
Greater Vasa Parrots (Coracopsis vasa) by Laurella Desborough
These large dark grey parrots originate from Madagascar and the Comoros. They are very unusual parrots as their physical bodies, their mating procedures, their rapid development as youngsters, their adjustment to temperatures, and their excellent flying ability are remarkable.
When these vasas were first imported into the US, some breeders tried to copy what they thought was the necessary arrangement for breeding. In the wild, the breeding pairs were observed and information noted that the females with chicks in the nest would call loudly for food and various males would respond. During the feeding process that female would appear to mate with whichever male fed her. Most likely this behavior was devised so the female could obtain sufficient food for the developing chicks which grow very fast and it may be impossible in the wild for one male to provide enough food. It should be noted that these mating events were defined as โritual matings,โ where no s***m is ej******ed into the female. (Ritual mating has been observed in avian species from finches to parrots.)
Therefore, some bird breeders in the US set up the Greater vasa pairs as th*****mes, one female and two males, in flights in their aviaries. This practice was not universal, but relatively common. Meanwhile, other bird breeders set up their Greater vasas as pairs, not th*****mes. The situation with th*****mes would result in the odd male being stressed, often attacked, and not participating in feeding the female with chicks. One year I purchased a th*****me pair and placed them in a flight to observe their behavior. It was clearly obvious that the odd male was not happy, was stressed, and was persecuted by the pair. He did not belong. He was removed from that flight.
During all the years I worked with Greater vasa parrots, I always set them up as pairs. During the off season, generally from late September through January, several pairs were flocked together in a large flight. During the non breeding season, flocking Greater vasas works just fine. However, during the most active part of the breeding season, one cannot flock these birds or set up nestboxes in an open aviary with all the females and males in the same space. The most aggressive female has been known to attack and kill any other female in that aviary when breeders have set up the birds in pairs in a flock situation. I have never done this. I have only flocked these birds in the off breeding season and when they start to change into pre-breeding mode, from January to April, then I observe and remove the forming pairs and place in their separate breeding flights. It is not necessary to flock them in the off breeding season but I did that to provide more flight space for them. But once they started changing beak color from gray to white, I observed the flock to identify which males responded to which aggressive females, as the females do aggressively court the males and propose mating to them. The main point here is that one MUST remove pairs as they form in order to maintain the safety of every female in the flock situation. Careful observation indicates that xx male is responding in a receptive manner to yy female, while he does not respond that positively towards other courting females. So, when a male vasa displays a positive response to a specific female, then those two are removed from the flock and placed into their own separate flight.
By late spring, early summer, the pairs will be completely physically changed, with the female now presenting a very white beak with soft edges and a bare head with bright yellow skin. (Why does this yellow skin develop? One possibility is that when she is deep in the nest that her bright yellow head can be seen by her mate.)
During the mating process the male will feed the female with very fast energetic regurgitation prior to copulation. During copulation, the male has a large hemi-pen*s which is inserted into the female and the two will remain connected for 30 minutes to an hour or more while s***m is introduced into the female. This male organ does not seem to be observed except during the breeding season when it may be observed dangling from his body when he is not mating. Many years ago some bird breeders and veterinarians thought this organ was not normal but was a diseased item to be removed!
When the chicks of the nesting pair hatch, the male is frantic about wanting his food at the break of day. In my experience with the wild caught males who would normally never come to the front of the flight to eat their breakfast when I was nearby, but when there were chicks to be fed, those males would be right at the cage door waiting for that food bowl. They received a large bowl with a variety of fresh produce. I noted that the first items they chose were the defrosted fresh green peas. I have no idea why. During the day they would also receive non-gmo yellow corn on the cob, a quality seed mix, and nuts. It is important to provide foods with sufficient calcium as the chicks grow fast and without sufficient calcium they will develop deformed bones so appropriate calcium powder may be needed and sprinkled onto the fresh foods. Greater vasa chicks reach their full size in half the time it takes other parrots. They grow very fast. One of the first publications about these chicks was published by the zoo in Utah many years ago.
So critical information.
1. Never set up breeding pairs in a flock aviary. Only set up pairs singly for breeding.
2. Provide a varied fresh produce diet, along with TOPS pellets, nuts and seeds.
3. With chicks in the nest sprinkle a quality calcium product for birds on fresh foods.
4. Handrearing baby vasas weigh and record weights and observe development.
5. If flocking pairs in off breeding season, be sure to start observation in January regarding development of next breeding season behaviors and physical changes.
6. Record observations for resources.
