Philippine Parrot Oaks

Philippine Parrot Oaks

The plumage of the Philippine parrotlet is green overall, with the colour changing to yellow-green on the underside of the body. The beak, forehead and throat are a shade of orange-red, although the colour is less intense or absent in females. Philippine parrots only weigh a maximum of 40 g and are very dainty in build. Their tail is short and rounded at the end.

Nutrition

In the treetops, it feeds exclusively on vegetation, flowers, nectar, fruit and seeds. It owes its English name "Philippine Hanging-parrot" to the fact that it often hangs upside down from branches or twigs in an acrobatic manner when foraging in order to reach hard-to-reach shoots and fruit.

Distribution

The Philippine parrotlet's habitat is tropical lowland forests, bamboo forests, forest edges, bamboo plantations and other man-made areas.

The Philippine Parrotlet's breeding season is between March and May. The nest is usually an old cavity in a dead tree, which is lined with nesting material by the female. The clutch usually consists of 3 eggs, which are incubated for around 20 days. The hatched young then need another 5 weeks until they are independent and ready to fledge.

The population of Philippine parrots is not endangered overall. However, there is a different subspecies of the Philippine parrotlet on each of the larger islands of the Philippines and many of these are either highly endangered or almost extinct. The main reasons for this are the constant deforestation and the flourishing trade in the animals in the Philippines.