Great-billed Parrot
Tanygnathus megalorynchos
A large green parrot with a massive red bill and prominent yellow markings on the wings. In flight, shows yellow underwings. Found singly or in pairs or small groups within forest, mangroves, and plantations in lowlands and foothills. Distinguished from Blue-backed and Black-lored Parrots by yellow wing markings. Differs from Blue-naped Parrot in yellow underwings and lack of blue on head, and differs from male Eclectus Parrot in lack of red flank patch. Noisy, with varied calls that include harsh shrieks “KEEK-KEEK-KEEK…”, an ear-splitting, grating “ER,” and a high-pitched, rising whistle “keeYIP.”
Taxonomy
The great-billed parrot was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in New Guinea. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Psittacus megalorynchos in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The great-billed parrot is now placed in the genus Tanygnathus that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Wagler in 1832. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek words tanuō "to stretch out" and gnathos "jaw". The specific epithet megalorynchos combines the Ancient Greek megalos "great" and rhunkhos "bill". <p>Five subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Tanygnathus megalorynchos
- Authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Tanygnathus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Scarlet-fronted Parakeet
Psittacara wagleri
Mostly green parakeet with long pointed tail. Look for isolated red patch on forehead, gray eyering, and red shoulders. Often shows some random patches of red on the head or breast. Sexes similar. Found in small flocks from around 800-3000m, where they can occur in forest or open patchy woodland. Nests and roosts on cliffs. Occurs in Colombia and northern Venezuela; no longer includes Cordilleran Parakeet of Ecuador and Peru.
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
Stocky brown wader with bright red legs; compare with slenderer, far more gracile Spotted Redshank in juvenile and non-breeding plumage. Often rather wary, alerting other birds with its loud, fluty, whistled calls. Bobs tail when nervous, and then flies to show flashy white trailing edge to wings, white rump patch. Feeds in muddy shallows, probing and picking with its bill. Inhabits fresh and coastal wetlands; also breeds on moorland, usually near water.
Northern Pied-Babbler
Turdoides hypoleuca
A boldly marked babbler with gray-brown upperparts and mostly white underparts. Also note the pale eye and variable gray-brown blotching on the sides and on the breast. Found in woodland, thickets, and lush scrub, almost always in small groups which forage by hopping across the ground. Similar in shape and size to other babblers, but easily separated by the strikingly light-and-dark plumage. Nasal babbling call is frequently given, usually by a whole group in chorus.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.