The vernal hanging parrot (''Loriculus vernalis'') is a small

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 ...

which is a resident breeder in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and some other areas of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. They frequent the

banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...

tree for the fruit and plantain trees for the nectar from the flowers. This is a small, mainly green hanging parrot, only 14 cm long with a short tail. The adult male has a red rump and bill, and blue throat patch. The female has a green patch. Vernal hanging parrot is a bird of dry jungle and cultivation. It nests in holes in trees, laying 2-4 white eggs. Immature birds have a duller rump, and lack the throat patch. Vernal hanging parrot is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering. In

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, it is replaced by the very similar

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 ...

Sri Lanka hanging parrot, (''L. beryllinus'').

Breeding

Vernal hanging parrots nest in tree cavities. The nests are lined with fragments of leaves. There are usually three eggs in a clutch. The eggs are white in color. The female incubates the eggs for 20 days and the chicks leave the nest about 33 days from hatching.

Gallery

File:Vernal Hanging Parrot jpeg.jpg, left, In Konkan, Maharashtra, India File:Loriculus vernalis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.148.31.jpg, left, ''Loriculus vernalis'' - MHNT File:Vernal-Hanging-Parrot.jpg, left, A male feasting on guava.

References

Bibliography

* ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, {{Taxonbar, from=Q1260153 vernal hanging parrot Birds of Indomalaya vernal hanging parrot Taxa named by Anders Sparrman