The blue-rumped parrot (''Psittinus cyanurus'') is a

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

found in the very southern tip of Myanmar, peninsular Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and nearby islands. It is a small parrot (18 cm) and is primarily green with bright red underwing

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

s, a reddish shoulder patch, and yellowish margins on the wing coverts. It is sexually dimorphic. The female has a grey-brown head. The male has a black mantle, red upper mandible, and blue head and rump. It was formerly considered the only member of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Psittinus'', but

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

recognised the subspecies ''abbottii'' as a separate species, the

Simeulue parrot The Simeulue parrot (''Psittinus abbotti'') is a parrot endemic to two small islands off Sumatra. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the blue-rumped parrot (''Psittinus cyanurus''), but is split by the HBW/BirdLife checklist, with the I ...

, and the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

later followed suit, supporting it as a distinct species. Birdlife datazone species factsheet Simeulue parrot
/ref> There are two subspecies: * ''P. c. cyanurus'': Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra. * ''P. c. pontius'': Mentawi Islands southwards from

Siberut Siberut is the largest and northernmost of the Mentawai Islands, located 150 kilometres west of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of 3,838.25 km2 including smaller offshore islands, and had a population of 35,091 at the 2010 Cen ...

. Larger than the nominate subspecies. It is found in lowland forests, generally below 700 m, in forest, open woodland, orchards and plantations, mangroves, dense scrub, and coconut groves. It occurs in flocks up to 20 birds. They eat seeds, fruit and blossoms.

References

*Juniper & Parr (1998) ''Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World''; .

External links

Oriental Bird Images: ''Blue-rumped Parrot''
Selected photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q1259546 blue-rumped parrot Birds of Malaysia Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Asia blue-rumped parrot