Royal Parrotfinch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Ian_M Location: Vanuatu

Erythrura regia

Identification

11 cm. Male has a bright red head and tail, blue breast and turquoise-green upperparts, while females are greener in colour. Young Royal Parrotfinches are duller with dull blue head.

Distribution

Vanuatu.

Taxonomy

Monotypic.¹

Considered a race of the Red-headed Parrotfinch E. cyaneovirens by some authorities .^2,3

There is much confusion with identifying these species and their races, as the young take up to 20 months to reach full adult plumage with several intermediate colour stages.

Habitat

Photo by Ian_M
Location: Vanuatu (New Hebrides). This bird is a subadult.

Primary and secondary rainforest.

Behaviour

Staple diet consists of the seeds of small figs.

References

1. Clements JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
2. Dickinson EC (ed.) 2003. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. ISBN 9780691117010
3. Gill F & Wright M. 2008. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. 2006. ISBN 9780691128276 Update (2008) downloaded from http://worldbirdnames.org/names.html.

External Links

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