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Blue-winged Racquet-tailed Parrot

( Prioniturus verticalis )

Also known as:
Blue-winged Racquet-tail, Sulu Racquet-tail

Also known as:
Blue-winged Racquet-tail, Sulu Racquet-tail

Geography:

DID YOU KNOW?

Racquet-tailed parrots are among the least known psittacines in the world.

<p><em>Prioniturus</em></p>
Genus:

Prioniturus

<p><em>verticalis</em></p>
Species:

verticalis

Size:

35 cm (13.6 in)

Weight:

Not recorded.

Subspecies including nominate:

one

Colour Adult:

Mainly green on back, olive/green on breast and belly. Male-forehead and forecrown pale blue with small red patch; primary feathers blue on outer webs; middle tail feathers green, racquets black tinged blue, side tail feathers green tipped black. Beak blue/grey. Female-as in male but with no red spot on head.

Colour Juvenile:

As in female but with shorter tail shafts.

Call:

Varied call sounds include harsh, rasping notes, squeaky and disyllabic notes.

Blue-winged Racquet-tailed Parrot – AVoCet Cornell Lab Macaulay Library

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Vanished and Vanishing Parrots, Forshaw, 2017.
Parrots: Status Survey and Conservation Plan 2000-2004, Snyder, McGowan, Gilardi and Grajal, 2000.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.

Captive Status:

Unknown in captivity.

Longevity:

Housing:

Diet:

Enrichment:

Nest Box Size:

Clutch Size:

Not recorded.

Fledging Age:

Hatch Weight:

Peak Weight:

Weaning Weight:

World Population:

100-500 mature individuals, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:
Critically Endangered

CITES Listing:
Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Restricted-range species, confined to the Sulu archipelago Endemic Bird Area. Almost no forest remains on the islands of Sibutu and Sanga-sanga; the species is suspected to be extinct on the latter. As habitat continues to be lost, the rate of decline is thought to be accelerating. Likely hunted occasionally.

Range:

Tawi-Tawi and possibly Sibutu, Southwestern Sulu Archipelago, S Philippine Islands.

Habitat:

Occurs in lowland forest, forest edge, mangroves and dense remnant forest patches.

Wild Diet:

Feeds in upper canopy of fruiting trees.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Birds seen in singles or pairs in high flight over canopy; noisy in flight, but difficult to detect while feeding. Very active at sunrise.

Clutch and Egg Size:

Not recorded.

Breeding Season:

September-January. Nest recorded in a large broken-off palm tree.

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