Crimson Shining Parrot

Crimson Shining Parrot
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Subfamily:	Psittacinae
Tribe:	Platycercini
Genus:	Prosopeia
Species:	P. splendens
Binomial name
Prosopeia splendens (Peale, 1848)

The Crimson Shining Parrot, Prosopeia splendens, is a parrot from Fiji. The species is endemic to the islands of Kadavu and Ono in the Kadavu Group. The species was once considered conspecific with the Red Shining Parrot of Vanua Levu and Taveuni, but is now considered its own species. The species is sometimes known as the Kadavu Musk Parrot.

The Crimson Shining Parrot is a medium sized parrot (45 cm) with a long tail and bright plumage. The head, breast and belly are covered in bright crimson-red, its back, wings and tail are green with hints of blue in the wing. It has a long winged appearance in flight, flying with undulating bouts of flaps and gliding. The species is very vocal; the chreiks and squawks of the Crimson Shining Parrot are of a higher pitch than that of the Red Shining Parrot. On Kadavu it is unlikely to be mistaken for the other species of parrot, the Collared Lory.

The Crimson Shining Parrot is a common forest species that has recently taken to entering gardens and agricultural land. Pairs forage for seeds and fruits. The species has not been observed nesting but is assumed to be a hole nester like Red Shining Parrot. The species is considered to be Vulnerable by the IUCN due to its restricted range, habitat loss and the illegal trade in parrots.

References

• Pratt, H., Bruner, P & Berrett, D. (1987) The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific Princeton University Press:Princeton ISBN 0-691-08402-5
• BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Prosopeia splendens. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 17/9/2006
• BirdLife International (2009). Prosopeia splendens. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 14 April 2010.