Green racket-tail

Green racket-tail
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Superfamily: Psittacoidea
Family: Psittaculidae
Subfamily: Psittaculinae
Tribe: Psittaculini
Genus: Prioniturus
Species: P. luconensis
Binomial name
Prioniturus luconensis
(Steere, 1890)

The green racket-tail (Prioniturus luconensis) is an endemic parrot of the Philippines where it is found on Luzon and Marinduque.[2][3] This species was once common,[3] but is rapidly declining and is currently classified as vulnerable due to lowland deforestation and capture for cage-bird trade.[4]

Description

Males are entirely yellow-green, with paler underparts and head. The two central tail feathers are elongated with bare shafts and terminated with black rackets. Females are generally darker and less yellowish, while the bare tail shafts are shorter. Juveniles do not have rackets at the tail. Total length is about 29 centimeters.[2][3]

Habitat

Green racket-tails can be found in the canopy of tropical Rainforests in elevations of up to 700 meters. They are often found in nearby maize fields where they feed the on maize kernels.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2014). "Prioniturus luconensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 duPont, J. E. (1971). Philippine Birds. Greenville: Delaware Museum of Natural History.
  3. 1 2 3 Forshaw, Joseph M.; Cooper, William T. (1981) [1973, 1978]. Parrots of the World (corrected second ed.). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London. ISBN 0-7153-7698-5.
  4. redlist.org: Prioniturus luconensis


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.