The Mindoro racket-tail (''Prioniturus mindorensis'') is a species of

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 ...

in the

Psittaculinae The parrot subfamily Psittaculinae consists of three tribes: the Polytelini with three genera, the Psittaculini or Asian psittacines, and the pygmy parrots of the Micropsittini tribe.Joseph L., Alicia Toon, Erin E. Schirtzinger, Timothy F. Wright, ...

family. It was formerly considered conspecific with the

blue-crowned racket-tail The blue-crowned racket-tail (''Prioniturus discurus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found in Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas where it is found in tropical moist lowland forest. The Mindoro rack ...

(''Prioniturus discurus''). It is endemic to the island of

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and it occurs in tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and trapping for the

cage-bird trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

Description and taxonomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A medium-sized parrot of lowland and foothill forest on Mindoro. The two central tail feathers have extended shafts ending in a racket shape. Overall green in color, darker on the back and paler below, with deeper green on the head, a deep blue central crown, and a dark blue hind-crown and edge to the wing. Note the pale bill. Occurs together with Blue-naped Parrot, but is smaller and lacks the thick red bill. Voice includes various squeals and grating calls." Females have shorter "rackets". It is differentiated from the

Blue-crowned racket-tail The blue-crowned racket-tail (''Prioniturus discurus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found in Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas where it is found in tropical moist lowland forest. The Mindoro rack ...

with by its crown, the Mindoro racket-tail has a bluer hindcrown and an even darker hindcrown versus the more uniform color the latter. It also has a more matte green face. Its tail is also slightly longer. This split was reinforced by genetic findings.

Ecology and behavior

There are no species specific studies that have been conducted on the Mindoro racquet-tail. It is pressumed to have a similar diet as all other racquet-tails, feeding on fruit, particularly bananas, flowers and seeds of growing corn, and rice. Like all other parrots, it is a cavity nester. A single nest was recorded in a tree cavity in May.

Habitat and conservation status

It inhabits mainly tropical moist lowland forest but has been known to inhabit moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

up to 1,670 meters above sea level, and has been to known to visit cultivated areas. IUCN has assessed this bird as vulnerable with its population being estimated as 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals. It is threatened by habitat loss through legal and

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

road construction A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

or ''kaingin'' and trapping for both food and the pet trade. By 1988, extensive deforestation on Mindoro had reduced forest cover to a mere 120 km², of which only a small proportion is below this species's upper altitudinal limit. The lowland forest that does remain is highly fragmented. Slash-and-burn cultivation, occasional selective logging and rattan collection threaten the forest fragments that still support the species.

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

blasting for marble is an additional threat to forest at

Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,961 ...

. Conservation actions proposed are to survey to quantify the population. Study the species's habitat requirements. Assess the level of threat from trapping pressure. Use remote sensing techniques to track land-use change on Mindoro. Carry out awareness-raising activities to reduce trapping activities.

References

Mindoro racket-tail Birds of Mindoro Mindoro racket-tail Mindoro racket-tail {{Parrot-stub Endemic birds of the Philippines