Red-throated Lorikeet (Charmosyna amabilis)
This small, mainly green colored bird is deemed to be the rarest parrot of the Fiji Islands, where it formerly inhabited the islands of Ovalau, Taveuni, Vanua Levu, and Viti Levu.
The Red-throated Lorikeet reached a size of 18 cm, its biology is virtually unknown, the same applies to its breeding behavior, the size of the clutch and similar data. The species is, resp. was known to the natives of the Fijian islands by several names, including Mihi (?), Kula, Kulawai, and Talaki ni medra wai na kula.
The Red-throated Lorikeet was last found only in the higher regions at Mt. Tomanivi on the island of Viti Levu, the largest of the Fijian Islands, where it was last recorded in the year 1993, it is now most probably extinct. [1][2][3][4]
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References:
[1] E. L. Layard: Notes on the Birds of the Navigators’ and Friendly Islands, with some Additions to the Ornithology of Fiji. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 490-506. 1876
[2] H. Douglas Pratt, Phillip L. Bruner, Delwyn G. Berrett: A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press 1987
[3] Tony Juniper; Mike Parr: Parrots; A Guide to Parrots of the World. Yale University Press 1998
[4] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University Of Chicago Press 2006
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(public domain)
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edited: 12.02.2020