Explore Taxonomy
Order
Psittaciformes
Family
Psittaculidae
Genus
Prioniturus
Surprise Me
Previous Luzon Racquet-tail
Next Mindoro Racquet-tail
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
© Charley Hesse TROPICAL BIRDING
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
+2
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
Watch
- Blue-headed Racquet-tail
Listen

Blue-headed Racquet-tail Prioniturus platenae Scientific name definitions

Nigel Collar and Peter F. D. Boesman
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated June 24, 2017

Sign in to see your badges

Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

27 cm. Pale greyish yellow bill; entire head and nape light blue extending onto breast, becoming greener on lower breast and belly and yellow on vent; upperparts dull green; spatules dark green. Female has blue confined to crown and sides of head. Immature similar, with no spatules.

Systematics History

Recent phylogenetic study indicates that this species is part of a clade which contains also P. waterstradti, P. montanus and P. mindorensis (1). Previously treated as a race of P. discurus, but treatment as species recently reinforced (2). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Palawan and associated islands, from Calauit and Busuanga to Balabac (SW Philippines).

Habitat

Lowland forest and edges, and adjacent cultivations, apparently in the lowlands to around 300 m.

Movement

No information.

Diet and Foraging

No observations; nuts in stomachs of specimens.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

When perched, utters several short squeaky or nasal screeches, the latter sometimes also more drawn-out.

Breeding

Birds labelled juvenile have been collected in Jan (two) and Aug, and one labelled immature in May.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife VU Vulnerable

VULNERABLE. CITES II. The paucity of recent records of the Blue-headed Racquet-tail indicates that it is now generally uncommon and declining, although it is regularly recorded in St Paul's Subterranean National Park.

Distribution of the Blue-headed Racquet-tail - Range Map
Enlarge
  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Blue-headed Racquet-tail

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Blue-headed Racquet-tail (Prioniturus platenae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bhrtai1.01
Birds of the World

Partnerships

A global alliance of nature organizations working to document the natural history of all bird species at an unprecedented scale.

American Ornithological Society American Ornithilogical Society Armonia Bolivia Aves Argentinas Avibase Aves Uruguay Birds Caribbean Bird Count India Conservación de Islas Corbidi Fundación Ñankulafkén Instituto Humboldt Lynx Edicions Oikonos Oriental Bird Club Ornithological Society Of The Middle East The Caucasus And Central Asia RED DE OBSERVADORES DE AVES Y VIDA SILVESTRE DE CHILE Roberts Birds Save Brasil Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute Union Venezolana De Ornitologos