Moluccan Hanging-Parrot
Loriculus amabilis
A tiny, short-tailed green parrot with a narrow red throat patch and a vivid red rump. Males show a red forecrown and pale eye. Females lack the red forehead, have a dark eye, and display a smaller throat patch. Juveniles show a yellow throat and shoulder. Found in canopy of dense forest, forest edge, and plantations within the lowlands, usually in pairs or singly. Unmistakable, as it is the only tiny green short-tailed parrot in its limited range in the north Moluccas. Calls include “tzit-tzer-tzer” and high pitched “tzeet” notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Loriculus amabilis
- Authority
- Wallace, 1862
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Loriculus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Polynesian Starling
Aplonis tabuensis
A small to medium-sized starling, dark above and pale below with long buffy or gray streaks. Note the distinctive pale or white wing panel. Usually has a pale eye, but eye is dark in eastern Fiji and south Tonga. Common in all habitats. Samoan Starling is much larger and more uniformly dark, lacking a pale wing panel. Rusty-winged Starling is paler above with a dark eye and no pale wing panel. Polynesian’s most common call is a high-pitched repetitive “twee-wee.”
Rufescent Imperial-Pigeon
Ducula chalconota
A fairly large pigeon of montane forest interior. Green rump, pale orange chest, deep rufous belly and black band in the tail. Forages for fruit, singly or in pairs in the upper or mid-canopy. Similar to Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeon but Rufescent occurs at higher elevations and has more extensive gray on the sides of the neck. Papuan Mountain-Pigeon more likely to co-occur but Rufescent lacks the white chest and has green rather than grey back. Not very vocal. Call a mournful downslurred “wooo”.
Black-billed Mountain-Toucan
Andigena nigrirostris
Distinctive toucan of montane forests in the Andes from Venezuela to extreme northwest Peru. Easy to identify with black cap, dark bill, white throat, powder blue belly, and mostly brownish upperparts. Occurs from 1,500-2,500m, typically below the elevational range of Gray-breasted Mountain-Toucan but occasionally some overlap. Uncommon; usually found singly or in pairs in the forest canopy, often around fruiting trees.
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