Pink-billed Parrotfinch
Erythrura kleinschmidti
A distinctive, mostly tree-dwelling finch. Body uniformly green, rump red. Note the striking black mask and the contrasting thick pale pink bill. Prefers forest and forest edge, but also found in adjoining scrub, up to 1000 meters of elevation. Voice is a thin, high-pitched “cheee cheee cheee.”
Identification
This is a large and robust parrotfinch, 11 centimetres (4.3 in) in length, with a long pale pink bill much larger than that of other parrotfinches. The adult has mainly olive-green plumage, but it has a black face, blue crown and nape, and the bright red rump typical of the genus. Its eyes are brown or reddish-brown, and the legs and feet are pink or brownish-pink. The sexes are alike. The juvenile is like the adult, although its plumage is; slightly duller, and it has a pale orange bill with a dark tip. The call is a typical parrotfinch high pitched tsee tsee or cheee cheee cheee. A series of clicks may also be heard.<p>A related species, the Fiji parrotfinch, E. pealii, also occurs on Viti Levu. This locally common bird is smaller, and adults have a red head and a much smaller, dark bill. Immatures have a pale bill, but are brighter green than their larger relative.
Taxonomy
The parrotfinches are a genus of estrildid finches found in southeast Asia and Australasia. They are small birds with short rounded wings and tails. Most species have green bodies, and all but one have the red tail that gives the genus its scientific name Erythrura, which is derived from the Ancient Greek ερυθρός erythros, 'red', and ουρά oura, 'tail'.<p>The pink-billed parrotfinch was initially described as Amblynura kleinschmidti by German naturalist Otto Finsch in 1878. The binomial name commemorates the German explorer and collector Theodor Kleinschmidt (1834–1881), who discovered the species on Viti Levu in 1877.
- Scientific name
- Erythrura kleinschmidti
- Authority
- (Finsch, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Erythrura
Range and habitat
The pink-billed parrotfinch is endemic to Fiji, thought to be only found in the wetter central and eastern parts of the largest island, Viti Levu but has also been observed on the Yasawa Islands to the north-west in 2012. This is a bird of undisturbed mature forest at any elevation, although it has been found to be common in one area of secondary forest, where it made a failed attempt to nest. It has disappeared from some previously occupied sites for reasons that are not known.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Gymnophaps solomonensis
A long-tailed pigeon with striking plumage contrast. Dark gray on the back and wings with an entirely white underside and tail. Dark back feathers intricately scalloped with black edges. Found singly or in small groups in forest. Often seen flying above the canopy. Combination of pale yellow bill and striking contrast separates this species from other pigeons. Rarely vocal, but has occasionally been heard giving a nasal wheezing call.
Montane Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris ludovicensis
A medium-sized typical ‘double-collared’ sunbird with a long bill. Male has a very broad red breast band, bluish-violet rump patch, and a dusky belly. Female is dull gray-brown. Pairs and singles are common but extremely local in highland forests and thicket edges, restricted to distinct regions that perhaps represent three separate species: the Angolan scarp; Nyika Plateau of Malawi; and the Eastern Arc, Tanzania. Larger, with a broader red breast band on the male, than either Eastern Miombo or Forest Double-collared sunbirds; the latter also has an olive (not dusky) belly. Has a typical jumbled sunbird song.
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
Coccyzus vieilloti
An impressive long-tailed bird of wooded habitats including shade coffee plantations. Usually found in dense vegetation though sometimes found sunning in the open at first light with its tail spread. Note this species long straight narrow bill, brilliant red eyering, gray chest, and chestnut belly. The Mangrove Cuckoo is passingly similar but has a much shorter bill, a black mask, and lacks the red eyering visible on Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. Secretive, but not shy, this species is often first detected by its voice. Song is a long, rapid, ratcheting “keh-keh-keh…” series that often accelerates and/or decelerates throughout. Other calls include a harsh, “craaa.”
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