Purple-naped Lory
Lorius domicella
Unmistakable: a red parrot with a diagnostic dark cap, forest-green wings, and a slim yellow necklace. Juveniles show a broader yellow band, more violet on nape, and a brown bill (red in adults). Secretive pairs occupy hill forest on the island of Seram. The only red parrot in its range with a dark cap, green wings, and a yellow necklace. Gives harsh screeches and raptor-like whistles.
Identification
The purple-naped lory is 28 cm (11 in) long. It is mostly red with an all red tail that fades to darker red towards the tip. The top of its head is black, which fades to purple on the back of its neck. It has green wings, blue thighs, and a variable approximately transverse yellow band across the chest. It has an orange beak, dark-grey eyerings, and orange-red irises. Juveniles have a brown beak, grey-white eyerings, brown irises, a wider yellow band across the chest, and a more extensive purple patch on the back of neck.
Taxonomy
The purple-naped lory was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Psittacus domicella. The specific epithet domicella is Medieval Latin meaning "damsel". Linnaeus based his description on "The second Black-capped Lory" that had been described and illustrated in 1751 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his book A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. The specimen had been brought to London from the East Indies and Edwards was able made a drawing of it at the home of the naturalist and collector Hans Sloane. Linnaeus specified the locality as "Asia", but this is now taken to be Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands. The purple-naped lory is now placed in the genus Lorius that was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Lorius domicella
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Lorius
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Prinia cooki
A dull and poorly marked prinia with a strong bill and a long, graduated tail. Light brown above with faint dark streaking. Pale below, sometimes with some dark smudging along the sides of the breast. In some areas, breeding males become darker on the face and the bill becomes black. Found at low and moderate elevations in open dry forest, shrubby grasslands, and forest or agricultural edges. Can be retiring and difficult to see in dense vegetation. Sings two different song types: a dry rolling trill and a repeated two-syllabled “tulip.” Separated from most other prinias by its plainness and lack of contrasting head markings. Most similar to Himalayan Prinia, but there is little or no overlap in range, and Burmese Prinia is distinguished by having less streaking overall, especially along the sides of the breast.
Freckled Nightjar
Caprimulgus tristigma
Large, grayish nightjar. Both sexes show a small white mark in the outer wing. Male shows large white tail corners, while the female’s tail is plain. Found on rocky hills and outcrops, usually in savannah. Song is a loud, repeated “kow-chow.” Most similar to Eurasian Nightjar, but smaller, and lacks strong pale markings on the upperparts.
Yellow-capped Pygmy-Parrot
Micropsitta keiensis
A tiny parrot of lowland and foothill forest canopy in the south and west of New Guinea. Mostly green with yellow under the tail and a yellowish crown. NW birds have a red streak on the belly. Crawls actively on trunks, even upside down, like a nuthatch. May overlap with Red-breasted and Buff-faced but Yellow-capped lacks the blue crown and buff face. Call, a shrill, descending screech “kiiiiiii!”.
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