The vernal hanging parrot (''Loriculus vernalis'') is a small

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

which is a resident breeder in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and some other areas of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. They frequent the

banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

tree for the fruit and

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

trees for the nectar from the flowers. This is a small, mainly green

hanging parrot Hanging parrots are birds in the genus ''Loriculus'', a group of small parrots from tropical southern Asia. About long, hanging parrots are mostly green plumaged and short-tailed. Often head coloring helps to identify individual species. They a ...

, only 14 cm long with a short tail. The adult male has a red rump and bill, and blue throat patch. The female has a green patch. Vernal hanging parrot is a bird of dry jungle and cultivation. It nests in holes in trees, laying 2-4 white eggs. Immature birds have a duller rump, and lack the throat patch. Vernal hanging parrot is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering. In Sri Lanka, it is replaced by the very similar

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Sri Lanka hanging parrot The Sri Lanka hanging parrot (''Loriculus beryllinus'') is a small parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. Description The Sri Lanka hanging parrot is a small hanging parrot that is 13 cm long with a short tail. The adult has a ...

, (''L. beryllinus'').

Breeding

Vernal hanging parrots nest in tree cavities. The nests are lined with fragments of leaves. There are usually three eggs in a clutch. The eggs are white in color. The female incubates the eggs for 20 days and the chicks leave the nest about 33 days from hatching.

Gallery

File:Vernal Hanging Parrot jpeg.jpg, left, In Konkan, Maharashtra, India File:Loriculus vernalis MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.148.31.jpg, left, ''Loriculus vernalis'' - MHNT File:Vernal-Hanging-Parrot.jpg, left, A male feasting on guava.

References

* ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, {{Taxonbar, from=Q1260153 vernal hanging parrot Birds of India Birds of Bangladesh Birds of Eastern Himalaya Birds of Southeast Asia vernal hanging parrot Taxa named by Anders Sparrman