Blue-naped parrot

Blue-naped parrot
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittaculidae
Genus: Tanygnathus
Species:
T. lucionensis
Binomial name
Tanygnathus lucionensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms

Psittacus lucionensis Linnaeus, 1766

The blue-naped parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis), also known as the blue-crowned green parrot, Luzon parrot, the Philippine green parrot, and locally known as pikoy, is a parrot native throughout the Philippines and the Talaud Islands of Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade.

Description

This is a medium size parrot, around 31 cm (12 in) in length, primarily green except for a light blue rear crown and nape, pale blue lower back and rump, scalloped shoulders with orange-brown on black coverts, and blackish underwings with green underwing coverts.[2]

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the blue-naped parrot in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. He used the French name Le perroquet de l'Isle de Luçon and the Latin name Psittacus lucionensis.[3] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.[4] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.[4] One of these was the blue-naped parrot. Linnaeus included a terse description, used the binomial name Psittacus lucionensis and cited Brisson's work.[5] The specific name lucionensis is from Luzon in the Philippines.[6] This species is now placed in the genus Tanygnathus which was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Wagler in 1832.[7]

There are four subspecies:[8][9][10]

Distribution and ecology

The species is widespread throughout the Philippines. Three subspecies are endemic to the Philippines: T. l. lucionensis (Luzon and Mindoro), T. l. hybridus (Polillo Islands), and T. l. salvadorii (southern Philippines, including the Sulu Archipelago). The last subspecies, T. l . talautensis, is native to the Visayas and Mindanao island groups of the Philippines, with a range extending to the Talaud Islands of Indonesia.[9][10]

T. l. salvadorii and T. l . talautensis have also been introduced to the Sangihe Islands, the islands off northern Sabah in Malaysia, and within the mainland of Borneo itself (e.g. Kota Kinabalu).[9][10]

It is found in secondary forest, at forest edges and in plantations at elevations of up to 1000 m. Flock size is usually under a dozen. The blue-naped parrot feeds on mangoes, berries, seeds, nuts and grains. It nests in tree holes.[1]

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this bird as near threatened with the population continuing to decrease. It estimates that there are 1,500 to 7,000 mature individuals left. It has been extripated across most of its range in Negros and Siquijor. Habitat loss and trapping have made this species scarce on mst islands except Mindoro and Palawan.[1] The Katala Foundation has raised concerns over the increasing illegal trade of this bird on Palawan.[11]

It occurs in a few protected areas like Bataan National Park, Quezon Protected Landscape and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park but while protected on paper, protection is lax and deforestation and trapping continue within these areas.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c BirdLife International (2018). "Tanygnathus lucionensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22685009A132056469. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22685009A132056469.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ Juniper, T.; Parr, M. (1998). Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-07453-0.
  3. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 4. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 295–297, Plate 22 fig 2. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.
  4. ^ a b Allen, J.A. (1910). "Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 28: 317–335. hdl:2246/678.
  5. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 146.
  6. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ Wagler, Johann Georg (1832). "Monographia Psittacorum". Abhandlungen der mathematisch-physikalischen Classe, Königlich-Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (in Latin). 1: 463–750 [501].
  8. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Parrots, cockatoos". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis)". World Parrot Trust. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Blue-naped Parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis". BirdLife International. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Palawan's wildlife faces extinction risk due to mining, pet trade". Mongabay. 17 September 2008.
  12. ^ IUCN (2018-08-09). Tanygnathus lucionensis: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22685009A132056469 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22685009a132056469.en.

Further reading

  • Dickinson, E.C.; Kennedy, R.S.; Parkes, K.C. (1991). The birds of the Philippines: An annotated check-list. British Ornithologists' Union Check-list. Vol. 12.
  • Kennedy, R.S.; Gonzales, P.C.; Dickinson, E.C.; Miranda Jr., H.C.; Fisher, T.H. (2000). A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854668-8.