Great-billed parrot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great-billed parrot |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Tanygnathus
|
| Species: |
megalorynchos
|
The great-billed parrot (Tanygnathus megalorynchos) is also known as the Moluccan parrot or island parrot. It is a medium-sized green parrot that grows to about 38 centimeters (15 inches) long. This bird has a very large red bill and cream-colored eyes. Its shoulders are dark, its back is olive green, and its rump is a pale blue. The underside of its body is yellowish green. Female great-billed parrots are usually a bit smaller than males, but they look very much alike.
Contents
Where They Live and What They Eat
The great-billed parrot lives in forests, woodlands, and mangrove areas. You can find them on islands in south-east Asia. These islands include the Maluku, Raja Ampat, Talaud, Sangir, and Sarangani. They also live on the Lesser Sundas and other small islands nearby. Their main food is fruits.
Are They Safe?
This parrot is still found in many places and is quite common in its local areas. Because of this, experts have listed it as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing.
How They Got Their Name
The great-billed parrot was first described by a French scientist named Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780. He wrote about it in his book Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The bird was also shown in a colorful drawing made by François-Nicolas Martinet.
Later, in 1783, a Dutch scientist named Pieter Boddaert gave the bird its first scientific name, Psittacus megalorynchos. Today, the great-billed parrot belongs to a group of birds called Tanygnathus. This group was named by a German scientist, Johann Wagler, in 1832.
The name Tanygnathus comes from ancient Greek words. Tanuō means "to stretch out," and gnathos means "jaw." The second part of its scientific name, megalorynchos, also comes from ancient Greek. Megalos means "great," and rhunkhos means "bill." So, its name basically means "great-billed jaw."
Different Kinds of Great-billed Parrots
There are five different types, or subspecies, of the great-billed parrot:
- T. m. megalorhynchus (named by Boddaert in 1783) – Found in Sulawesi and nearby islands, extending to Maluku and islands west of Papua.
- T. m. affinis (named by Wallace in 1863) – Lives in the southern Maluku Islands.
- T. m. sumbensis (named by Meyer in 1882) – Found on Sumba island in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands.
- T. m. hellmayri (named by Mayr in 1944) – Lives on Rote Island, Semau, and southwest Timor (also in the eastern Lesser Sundas).
- T. m. subaffinis (named by P. L. Sclater in 1883) – Found on the Babar and Tanimbar Islands.
