Pink-billed Parrotfinch Erythrura kleinschmidti Scientific name definitions

11 cm; one bird 21 g. Has forehead and face  black, crown deep blue, ear-coverts to throat pale green; upperparts  green, rump and uppertail-coverts red, short tail black; breast to undertail-coverts yellowish-green; iris reddish brown, with eyering black; bill long (1·5 cm), pink, tip sometimes black; legs dull pink. Sexes alike. Juvenile is similar to adult, but plumage duller, less black on head, brownish on side of neck and breast, bill orangey-horn with tip black.

C & E Viti Levu, in W Fiji.

VULNERABLE. Restricted range species: present in Fiji EBA. Has small population within very small global range. Population estimated at 2500–10,000 individuals, in area of 2400 km² on island of Viti Levu; numbers declining owing to habitat loss. Although this species has always been considered rare, it may simply be unobtrusive and patchily distributed; all records are from wetter C & E parts of Viti Levu, where recent surveys suggest that it is widespread at low densities, recently estimated at 2·8 birds/km². The species was recorded at eight (62%) of 13 recent survey sites on the island, but sites were restricted to those having densest old-growth forest. Only c. 50% of Viti Levu is still forested, and small-scale logging and clearance for agriculture continues; the most reliable site for the species (Joske's Thumb) was logged in early 1980s, leading to a drastic decline in number of sightings. This estrildid, which is legally protected in Fiji, has been recorded in the protected watershed forest near Suva. Proposed conservation measures include the conducting of forest surveys and threat assessment, and resurvey of all known sites; development of local expertise in survey methodology also needed. Suitable areas for conservation need to be found, and preservation of the watershed forest near Suva ensured.