Mindanao Lorikeet

Trichoglossus johnstoniae

An uncommon, medium-sized, rather long-tailed parrot of montane forest on Mindanao. Makes daily altitudinal movements. Deep green above and yellowish-green below with green scaling, a red face, a reddish-orange bill, and a black line through the eye and around the back of the head. Overlaps with Mindanao and Blue-crowned Racquet-tails but is smaller, with a reddish face and bill. Voice consists of shrill, high-pitched shrieks.

Identification

The Mindanao lorikeet is 20 cm (8 in) long. Its green and has a beautiful color on the front. Its face is red, and it has a dark purple band on the head. It has many beautiful parts under the wing. Its feet are gray. Its beak is orange, the area around its eyes is dark gray, and its iris is red. Males and females are the same in appearance. The young have less red on the face and instead of the purple band they have brown on the back of the eye, gray around their eyes, brown on their iris, and dark brown on their beak. They eat small insects such as fireflies and spiders.

Taxonomy

The Mindanao lorikeet was formerly placed in the genus Trichoglossus but was moved to a newly introduced genus Saudareos based on the results of a molecular genetic analysis of the lorikeets published in 2020.<p>There are two poorly differentiated subspecies:

Scientific name
Trichoglossus johnstoniae
Authority
(Hartert, EJO, 1903)
Order
Psittaciformes
Family
Psittaculidae
Genus
Trichoglossus

Range and habitat

Migration
Nomadic movement

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

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