The Simeulue parrot (''Psittinus abbotti'') 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 ...

endemic to two small islands off

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the blue-rumped parrot (''Psittinus cyanurus''), but is split by the HBW/BirdLife checklist, with 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 following suit, supporting its status as a distinct species.

Description

The Simeulue parrot is a small, short-tailed bird of stocky build, measuring approximately 19 cm. It has a bright green colouration, which in adult males is accented by a blue face with a green crown and a black collar. It differs from the blue-rumped parrot in its larger size, the lack of grey mantle and back, lack of blue rump, green instead of brown head colouration in the female, and blue head colouration in the male.

Distribution and conservation status

This taxon is restricted to

Simeulue Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1,754 square kilometre (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census ...

and Siumat islands off north-west

. Estimates of total population size are uncertain, ranging from 5,000 up to 47,000 birds. While there is no current indication of population decline, the Simeulue parrot has been classified 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 ...

by 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 ...

due to its limited distribution and likely present and future loss of habitat to mining and agriculture. It is the only Indonesian parrot species not protected by Indonesian law.

References

Simeulue parrot Birds of Sumatra Endemic fauna of Indonesia

Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Asia Simeulue parrot {{Parrot-stub