Long-tailed Parakeet Psittacula longicauda Scientific name definitions

40–48 cm; 168–196 g. Upper mandible red, lower blackish red; crown and area above line from cere to eye dark green; area from mandible and chin tapering onto lower sides of neck black; rest of head and nape rose-pink, shading to pale yellowish green on mantle and upper back , pale bluish on lower back, green on uppertail-coverts; undersides greenish yellow shading slightly darker on belly; wings green with dull blue on primary-coverts and primaries; tail deep blue centrally, outer feathers green. Female replaces rose-pink on head with dull orange-red, and blue wash on ear-coverts; bill all brownish. Immature mainly green, some orange-red tinge on sides of head. Race defontainei has deeper red on head, yellowish crown; modesta crown appears brownish, as feathers dull red mixed with green, duller brownish in female; <em>tytleri</em> crown , nape, mantle and upper back yellowish green, rump and lower back green; nicobarica bright green crown with yellowish green nape. Last three races larger than first two, nicobarica largest.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

An extreme lowland species, ranging up to 300 m but preferring areas in coastal regions, including mangroves, swamp forest (including peatswamp forest), rain forest edge, partly cleared land, oil-palm plantations, coconut groves.

Specific items include outer covering of betel nuts Areca catechu, papaya Carica papaya, ripe Pandanus fruit, fruits of kapor Dryobalanops, Dillenia speciosa and Sonneratia alba, flowers of Acacia and Bombax, seeds of Macaranga, Ixonanthes, Vitex pybescens, Lagerstroemia, Dipterocarpus crinitus. Can be pest in oil-palms, plucking ripe fruits to eat the soft mesocarp.

Flight call a short nasal “kyeh” repeated at intervals, but groups in flight may noisily call in unison. When perched, repertoire more varied but predominantly involves nasal screeches and squawks. Voice of race nicobarica said to be gruffer (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Generally Dec–May in Malaysia; Jun in Kalimantan; Oct on Sumatra; Feb–Apr in Andamans and Nicobars. Nest in hole in tree, in one case adjacent to grass swamp, in another 10 m up in peatswamp forest; on Andamans usually in Pterocarpus marsupium, 4–8 m up. Breeds colonially, with multiple pairs (one count of 16) using neighbouring holes in particular tree or group of trees; 6–20 m up, but on Sumatra once 45 m up in dead limb of Koompassia. Eggs 2–3; in captivity, incubation 24 days.

VULNERABLE. Previously considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Until recently, very common and widespread in S Kalimantan; locally common on Sumatra, where however formerly abundant, decline being linked to loss of breeding sites in primary forest; locally common in Peninsular Malaysia, where its capacity to survive is linked to its ability to forage outside rainforest and to nest communally. Occurs in very large numbers in some areas, Brunei. Common, Andamans and Nicobars. International trade was relatively slight, 1981–1985, but in the period 1986–1990 an average 2143 birds were exported annually, mostly from Malaysia. Anticipated pest status in oil-palm plantations has not been fulfilled, probably because of inability of birds to breed in such habitat. Based on measurements of global forest cover change from 2000 to 2012 (3 Hansen, M. C., P. V. Potapov, R. Moore, M. Hancher, S. A. Turubanova, A. Tyukavina, D. Thau, S. V. Stehman, S. J. Goetz, T. R. Loveland, A. Kommareddy, A. Egorov, L. P. Chini, C. O. Justice, and J. R. G. Townshend (2013). High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342(6160):850–853. Close ), it is estimated to have lost almost one-third (32·4%) of its habitat within its distribution over three generations (24·6 years) (4 Tracewski, L., S. H. M. Butchart, M. Di Marco, G. F. Ficetola, C. Rondinini, A. Symes, H. Wheatley, A. E. Beresford, and G. M. Buchanan (2016). Toward quantification of the impact of 21st-century deforestation on the extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates. Conservation Biology 30(5):1070–1079. Close ).