Papuan Hanging-Parrot 10 cm; 13–16 g. Green, more yellowish on underparts; bill black; forehead golden yellow; throat patch red; rump and upper tail-coverts red, with yellow sides to rump; undersides of wings greenish-blue; legs dull yellowish.
Papuan Hanging-Parrot Female has forehead bluish-green, smaller red throat patch. Immature like a female without a red throat patch. Race batavorum has less yellow on the forehead; meek supposedly but doubtfully larger, less yellow on forecrown.
Systematics History
Editor’s Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.
Member of the L. stigmatus group (which see). Often considered to include L. tener, but the two are better treated separately. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
Subspecies
Loriculus aurantiifrons aurantiifronsScientific name definitions
Distribution
Loriculus aurantiifrons batavorumScientific name definitions
Distribution
Loriculus aurantiifrons meekiScientific name definitions
Distribution
Distribution
Editor’s Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the ‘Subspecies’ article above. In the future, we will develop a range-wide distribution article.
Habitat
Lowland forest and secondary growth, noted visiting casuarinas, pines and palms; commonly up to 300 m, more rarely up to 1200 m or even 1600 m.
Movement
No information.
Diet and Foraging
Nectar, buds, and blossoms, possibly also seeds and lerps. White paste in the stomach was apparently “flower sap”.
Sounds and Vocal Behavior
Not well documented. Papuan Hanging-Parrot Calls include short high-pitched notes, given in phrases of 2–4 notes, e.g. “tsee-seet”. When perched also buzzier “tzeet” notes.
Breeding
Sept-Oct. Papuan Hanging-Parrot Nest in a small hollow in the narrow tree; hole in an arboreal termitarium seen visited, but possibly only for roosting. Eggs reportedly four.
Conservation Status
Not globally threatened. CITES II. Regarded as a commoner on Karkar than on the mainland, but this may in part reflect greater observational difficulties, or else the species prefers more disturbed areas, in which it has been found to be common; has been reported as rare in primary habitats.
