Golden-mantled Racquet-tail - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Golden-mantled Racket-tail; Sulawesi Racquet-tail

Identification

28 cm. Medium sized largely green parrot with greyish scapulars/mantle and a golden hind neck which may show tail spatules or racquets.

overall bright slightly yellowish green
crissum and lower belly slightly yellower
upper mandible silvery grey but with an extensive dark tip: lower mandible variably darker
under tail blue
adult's tail with medium spatules or racquets: bare feather shafts with spoon-shaped tips

Male:

hind neck to upper mantle with clear golden patch
hind crown may have a pink or reddish spot bordered by greyish (depends on subspecies)
mantle and scapulars variably grey or greyish (depends on subspecies)

Female:

Indonesia: Sulawesi, Sula Islands, Moluccas (South-east Asia)

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

P. p. talautensis: Talaud Islands (northern Sulawesi). Male with clearer red spot, reduced grey mantle; nape patch more bluish
P. p. platurus: Sulawesi, Togian, Banggai and adjacent islands (see identification)
P. p. sinerubris: Sula Islands (Taliabu and Mangole). Male with no red crown spot, very reduced grey (mantle, wings). Wing bend and lesser coverts washed violet.

Lowland rainforest up to 3000 m.

Their diet consists of seeds and small fruit, particularly mangoes.

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2014)

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Golden-mantled Racquet-tail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Golden-mantled_Racquet-tail