Cebu Hanging Parrot

Cebu Fledermauspapageichen ( Loriculus philippensis chrysonotus )

The Cebu - Fledermauspapageichen ( Loriculus philippensis chrysonotus ) is an extinct subspecies of Philippinenpapageichens ( Loriculus philippensis ). It was endemic to the Philippines island of Cebu.

Features

The Cebu - Fledermauspapageichen reached a length of 14 cm and a wingspan of 18 cm. The plumage was mostly green. Forehead, throat, upper breast and rump were red. Top of the head and neck were characterized by varying yellow components. The beak was coral, the iris was dark brown and the legs and feet were orange. In contrast to Philippinenpapageichen the front end area was red, the rest of the top of the head, the neck and the front back were tired of golden yellow. The neck was tender reddish. The lower part of the red throat patch was more orange. The females were similar to males, with them, however, the plumage coloration was less intense.

Way of life

The Cebu - Fledermauspapageichen inhabited the primary forests in the lowlands and on the hills, and secondary forests and coconut groves. Like the other races of Philippinenpapageichens it was probably in the upper floors of the forest in search of food and fed on flowers, nectar, fruit and seeds.

Extinction

The Cebu - Fledermauspapageichen disappeared due to the almost complete deforestation Cebus. In 1873 it was still common in the woods near Toledo City. During an expedition in 1888, the ornithologist Frank Swift Bourns and Dean Conant Worcester could find only one copy despite a more active search in the large coconut groves near Carmen. 1906 had Richard Crittenden McGregor and his assistants difficulties still forest remnants found on Cebu. Only one copy of Cebu Fledermauspapageichens could be collected on the expedition. Around 1908 the extinction of this subspecies was suspected in the wilderness, but there are authors noted the evidence from the years 1920 and 1929. Between 1929 and 1943 a number of Cebu Fledermauspapageichen at London Zoo to have lived. Was discovered in 1997 in a remote part of central Cebu in dense foliage a copy of the Cebu - Fledermauspapageichens and captured. In subsequent searches, there was no more and an unconfirmed sighting of 2004 is probably based on a confusion with a well-established on Cebu subspecies of Philippinenpapageichens evidence. Bellows are in the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum in Tring and in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC