Tricolored Parrotfinch Erythrura tricolor Scientific name definitions

10 cm; 11 g. Male has head deep blue, fading on nape to bright green of back and wings, with rump, uppertail-coverts and tail red; sometimes shows strong light blue wash on mantle, scapulars and fringes of upperwing-coverts; throat deep blue normally becoming less intense on breast, belly bright to pale blue, undertail-coverts pale blue; iris dark brown, eyering dark grey; bill black; legs pinkish-grey to fleshy-orange or fleshy-yellow. Female is very similar to male, but slightly paler, face and throat to breast duller and paler blue, flanks greenish-blue, belly light blue. Juvenile has forehead and face grey, crown and back dull green, wings green, rump grey, uppertail-coverts and edge of rectrices dull red, throat pale grey, underparts grey, bill yellowish, upper mandible black.

Timor, Atauro, Wetar, Romang, Damar, Babar and Tanimbar Is (Larat, Yamdena, Lutur), in C & E Lesser Sundas.

Forest edge and small clearings in monsoon forest, woodland and secondary growth, thickets, bamboo, and cultivated areas; lowland to 1400 m.

No information.

Seeds of grasses and fruits . Feeds on ground and in low scrub, bamboo and trees. Forages singly, in pairs and in small groups, occasionally in flocks of up to c. 20 individuals; often associates with Lonchura species in Tanimbar Is (Yamdena).

Call  a soft "ti-ti-ti-ti...ti-ti-ti"; also thin, high-pitched sibilant upslurs. Song a shrill high trill.

Little information, mostly based on captive birds (1 Clement, P., A. Harris, and J. Davis (1993). Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Male bundles nesting material in bill and, with trilling song, flies to female; perched male stretches head and body in her direction, but does not bob or bow towards her; pair engages in sexual pursuit-flight, female in the lead, while male sometimes holds nest material in bill. Nest built in top of palm. Clutch 4–6 eggs; incubation period 13–15 days; nestling naked, skin pink, each side of gape with two large blue reflecting papillae, yellow palate with five black spots, tongue with two small lateral spots, a crescent under tongue; captive-reared young sometimes leave nest at 17 days, independent at 5 weeks, bill black at 7 weeks, bright adult plumage acquired with a third moult. The only nest in the wild so far described was found in Mar 2014 on Atauro Island, Timor-Leste; based on regular visits of a female it was assumed to contain nestlings; the nest was on a small hanging lateral branch of an old rainforest tree, c. 11 m above the ground on a very steep ridge, and was a domed structure with a side entrance hole, composed of fine twigs and moss (2 Verbelen, P. (2015). First nest and breeding behaviour of Tricoloured Parrotfinch Erythrura tricolor on Atauro Island, Timor-Leste. Kukila. 18(2): 65–69. Close ). Also on Atauro, two fledglings observed in Apr (3 Trainor, C.R., and Leitão, P.J. (2007). Further significant bird records from Atauro Island, Timor-Leste (East Timor). Forktail 23:155–158. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Restricted range species: present in Banda Sea Islands EBA and Timor and Wetar EBA. Locally fairly common on Timor and Wetar; moderately common in Tanimbar Is (Yamdena). Formerly quite common on Romang and Babar, but no recent information from those islands.