The montane racket-tail (''Prioniturus montanus''), also known as the Luzon racket-tail, 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 family

Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family of parrots, commonly known as Old World parrots, though this term is a misnomer, as not all its members occur in the Old World and Psittacinae also occurs in the Old World. It consists of six subfamilies: Psittricha ...

. It was previously considered conspecific with the Mindanao racket-tail. This bird is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the mountainous regions of northern

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

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 ...

. It faces threats from

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 the cage bird trade. Under Philippine Law RA 9147, it is illegal to hunt, capture, or possess this species.

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 montane racket-tail as "A medium-sized parrot of montane forest on Luzon. The two central tail feathers have extended shafts ending in a racket shape. Overall green in color, darker on the back and paler below. Male has a blue face and a red crown. The similar Green racket-tail may overlap geographically, but Luzon is usually found at higher elevations and has a darker back. Voice includes various grating calls and shrill squeals." The species exhibits

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

, with males having a bluish crown and a bright red spot, while females have a green head with a very light blue tinge.

Ecology and behavior

It feeds on berries, seeds, and nuts.Montane Racquet-tail (Prioniturus montanus) - BirdLife species factsheet
/ref> Breeding takes place from

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

. Like all other racket-tails, they are cavity nesters.

Habitat and conservation status

It inhabits tropical moist

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

at elevations of 700–2,900 meters above sea level and is known to visit cultivated areas. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed this bird as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

, with its population estimated at 1,500 to 7,000 mature individuals.

Forest loss Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or u ...

is a threat, though it is not considered to have as significant an impact within this species' altitudinal range compared to lowland forests. Its lowland counterpart, the Green racket-tail, is much more threatened, being listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

with many local extinctions. While many parrots in the region are affected by trapping for trade, the impact on this species is not well known.

References

montane racket-tail Birds of Luzon montane racket-tail Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant Near threatened biota of Asia {{parrot-stub Endemic birds of the Philippines