Alternative name: Song Parrot
- Geoffroyus heteroclitus
Includes: Rennell Parrot
Identification
24 - 25 cm.
Male
- Yellow head bordered by a broad, full dove-grey collar
- Green rest of plumage, yellowish on underparts and with reddish stain on median wing-coverts and deep-blue on underwing-coverts
- Dusky yellow underside of tail
- Yellow upper mandible, grey lower mandible
- Pale yellow eye
- Greyish-green legs and feet
- hyacinthinus with a much broader collar, extending well down to breast and onto upper mantle and hindcrown
Female
- Olive-grey crown and face
- Grey upper mandible
Immatures like females but whit paler grey crown.
Similar species
The male Papuan Eclectus is larger and shows red on bill and on body-sides. Singing Parrot has also shorter, more pointed wings, a longer tail and faster wingbeats.
Other sympatric Lorius species have faster wingbeats and shorter tails.
Distribution
Found on the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.
A restricted-range species, still common in parts of its range. May be overlooked due to secretive behaviour.
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies recognized:
- G. h. heteroclitus on the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) and Solomon Islands (except Rennell)
- G. h. hyacinthinus on Rennell Island (Solomon Islands)
hyacinthinus is split as Rennell Parrot by HBW alive.
Habitat
Moist lowland forests. Also in second growth, partly cleared areas, parks, gardens and coconut plantations.
Recorded up to 900 m on Guadalcanal and San Cristobal, 1470 m in New Britain and 1760 m in New Ireland.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on seedy fruit, blossoms and buds.
Forages usually in pairs or trios.
Breeding
Breeding recorded in October, a female seen feeding a juvenile in August.
The nest is placed in a hole in the dead limb of breadfruit or in a dead stump. The female probably excavates the hole alone.
Movements
No information. Often seen flying high.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2016. IOC World Bird Names (version 6.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Singing Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Singing_Parrot
