Blue-backed Parrot - BirdForum Opus

Alternative Name: Azure-rumped Parrot

Tanygnathus sumatranus

Female
Photo by mehdhalaouate
North Sulawesi, June 2004

Identification

32cm

• Mostly green
• Head, wings and tail dark green
• Belly and collar light green
• Mantle/back green (Azure-rumped) or blue (Blue-backed).
• Wings yellow-streaked wings with blue wing bends
• Rump blue
• Iris yellow (Azure-rumped) or red (Blue-backed)
  

Male

• Bill red
  

Female

• Bill pale yellow or horn

Distribution

Southeast Asia : found in the Philippines and Sulawesi (Indonesia).

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 6 subspecies:

• T. s. duponti:

• Luzon (northern Philippines)

• T. s. freeri:

• Polillo (northern Philippines)

• T. s. everetti:

• Philippines (Visayan Islands and Mindanao)

• T. s. burbidgii:

• Sulu Archipelago

• T. s. sangirensis:

• Sangihi Island and Talaud Islands

• T. s. sumatranus:

• Sulawesi, Togian, Sula, Muna, Buton islands and Banggai Archaepelago

An additional subspecies heterurus is not recognised by all authorities^[2].

The first 4 of these (duponti, freeri, everetti, burbidgii) may be split as Blue-backed Parrot (strict sense, T. everetti), with a red iris and a blue back: in this case sangirensis and sumatranus become Azure-rumped Parrot (T. sumatranus: green back and yellow iris).

Habitat

Forests and culivated areas up to 800m.

Behaviour

The diet includes crops such as corn.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-backed Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-backed_Parrot

External Links

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