The Guaiabero is a species of parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 in the Psittacidae family, belonging to the monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Bolbopsittacus and closely related to the lovebird

Lovebird

A Lovebird is one of nine species of the genus Agapornis . They are a social and affectionate small parrot. Eight species are native to the African continent, while the Grey-headed Lovebird is native to Madagascar...

s (Agapornis) and hanging parrot

Hanging parrot

The hanging parrots are birds in the parrot genus Loriculus . This is a group of small parrots from tropical southern Asia.These little parrots, about 13 cm long, are mostly green plumaged and short-tailed. Often head coloring helps to identify individual species...

s (Loriculus). It is endemic to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Its common name is derived from its reputation for eating guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

s.

Description

Measuring around 15 cm (6 in) in length, it is a smallish, stout parrot with a large bill and stubby tail. The sexes differ in plumage. The adult male is green overall, with more yellowish underparts and a pale blue face and collar and wing primaries. The rump is yellow-green. The bill is grey-blue and with a darker tip, and the eyes dark brown. The adult female is also greenish, with a yellow collar and less blue on the face. It has black crescent markings on the nape and rump. Its bill is paler grey.

Behaviour

It inhabits lowland forests and adjacent cleared country. It is a predominantly fruit eating

Frugivore

A frugivore is a fruit eater. It can be any type of herbivore or omnivore where fruit is a preferred food type. Because approximately 20% of all mammalian herbivores also eat fruit, frugivory is considered to be common among mammals. Since frugivores eat a lot of fruit they are highly dependent...

 parrot, and has been recorded near fruit trees such as mangos. The breeding habits in the wild remained virtually unknown until a few years ago, but based on recent observations it appears to nest in a self-excavated cavity inside an arboreal ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

 nest or termitaria.

Taxonomy

The Guaiabero was first described as Psittacus lunulatus by Tyrol

Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino

[Image:Tirol-Suedtirol-Trentino.png|thumb|Detailed map of the Euroregion, formed by the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino.----...

ean naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli was an Italian physician and naturalist.-Biography:...

 in 1786. The only member of its genus, it is distinctive. Four subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 have been recognised. The nominate race lunulatus occurs on Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

, birds on Leyte are darker with a more distinctive blue collar and some purple-tinge on the face and classified as subspecies intermedius, those on Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

 and Panaon

Panaon Island

Panaon Island,Panaon Island is a small island in the Philippines, in the province of Southern Leyte. It lies south of Leyte, separated from Dinagat to the east, and Mindanao to the southeast by Surigao Strait. The Mindanao Sea lies to the southwest....

 have greener cheeks and are classified as subspecies mindanensis, and finally those on Samar are similar to the Leyte subspecies, but with a more yellow tone overall and classified as callainipictus.

External links

• Oriental Bird Images: Guaiabero Selected photos