The green-faced parrotfinch (''Erythrura viridifacies'') is a species of

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

found in northern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, Panay,

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

and

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

islands. Its local name is ''mayang-kawayan'' in Tagalog.

Description

Erythrura viridifacies 2007 stamp of the Philippines

The green-faced parrotfinch is approximately 12–13 cm long. This species green plumage except for its bright red uppertail-coverts and tail and darker fringes to the primaries. It has a long pointed tail. The female is slightly shorter and shows buff on the lower belly and vent. Both sexes have a large, dark bill. The green-faced parrotfinch makes a short, high-pitched ''tsit tsit'', chattering and grating notes.

Habitat and Conservation Status

It inhabits tropical moist montane forest, forest edge and even savannah, often above 1,000 m, but is occasionally found in the lowlands. It is usually found together with flowering or seeding bamboos, which are its food supply. The IUCN has assessed this species as Vulnerable with the population being estimated at 6,000 to 15,000 mature individuals remaining. This species is threatened by deforestation which removes its food supply (bamboo seeds). The

cage-bird trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

has also affected its population as large numbers of green-faced parrotfinch in many districts of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

have been caught and exported to the United States. This species is currently conserved in two protected areas, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and Bataan Natural Park/

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...

but actual enforcement is lax. Also, due to its nomadic habits, occurrence in protected areas does not necessarily confer continuous protection.

References

External links

Species factsheet
– BirdLife International green-faced parrotfinch Endemic birds of the Philippines Birds of Cebu Birds of Luzon Birds of Negros Island Birds of Panay green-faced parrotfinch green-faced parrotfinch green-faced parrotfinch {{Estrildidae-stub