2012 Flora & Fauna Series 20 Cents Coin

20 cents

Diametre: 24.00mm | Thickness: 1.60mm | Weight: 4.68g Edge Type: Mixed (Plain and Milled)

The front design features a Kakā (Kadavu Shining Parrot). Fiji’s shining parrots are a strikingly beautiful group of two to six varieties. The most distinct of them is the Kakā or Kadavu variety which is generally accepted as a full species. While the red of the other varieties is a subdued darkish red varying to a deep burgundy, the underparts of Kadavu’s parrots are a bright scarlet or crimson. Kadavu parrots also display a bright blue patch on the back at the base of their necks. Formerly, the red feathers of Fiji’s parrots were central to an almost Pacific-wide trade, in fact they were the currency of trade for many of the Pacific’s earliest inhabitants. Despite this and the advent of modern science we currently know next to nothing about the status, ecology and behaviour of the Kadavu parrot or its relatives in Fiji.

The back design features a Tabua (whale’s tooth).