Blue-crowned racket-tail

The blue-crowned racket-tail (Prioniturus discurus) is a parrot found on all the larger islands of the Philippines except Palawan and Panay islands. It is 27 cm, basically green with a blue crown, bluish undertail, whitish beak, and dark underwings with green coverts. The blue-headed racket-tail (P. platenae) was formerly included in this species.[1]

Blue-crowned racket-tail
Juvenile
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittaculidae
Genus: Prioniturus
Species:
P. discurus
Binomial name
Prioniturus discurus
(Vieillot, 1818)

Taxonomy

Illustration by John Gould

There are three subspecies:

It inhabits humid forests, mangroves, and cultivated areas up to 1750m. Small flocks of 5-12, but more gather at fruit trees. Eats fruit, berries, nuts and seeds. Widespread but threatened by habitat destruction and trapping for the cage-bird trade.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2014). "Prioniturus discurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Juniper & Parr (1998) Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World; ISBN 0-300-07453-0.
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