DID YOU KNOW?
Meek’s Pygmy Parrots raise their babies in arboreal termitaria or tree-bound termite mounds.
Size:
10 cm (4 in)
Weight:
Not recorded.
Subspecies including nominate:
two: M.m. meeki, M.m. proxima
Colour Adult:
M.m. meeki: Both adults mostly green in colour; dusky grey/brown spotted with yellow; superciliary line faint yellow; yellow neck and underparts; green thighs; yellow underwing coverts; centre tail feathers green/blue, the lateral feathers blue/black. Beak pink. Cere and eye ring pink. Eye yellow.
M.m. proxima: Both adults paler ear coverts and cheeks, more yellow/grey; frontal band connects with superciliary band, both yellow.
Colour Juvenile:
Not recorded.
Call:
Calls are described as high-pitched and shrill, repeated rapidly over time.
More Information:
Avibase
Photo – Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Captive Status:
Not found in captivity.
Longevity:
—
Housing:
—
Diet:
—
Enrichment:
—
Nest Box Size:
—
Clutch Size:
Probably 3 eggs.
Fledging Age:
—
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
Unknown, decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Not globally threatened. A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Common on Manus and Lou, Admiralty Islands. Is considered to have a medium dependency on forest habitat and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 2.1% within its range over the past 10 years. Therefore, it is tentatively suspected that this may have led to a 1-19% decline in the species’ population over the same period.
Range:
M.m. meeki: Manus, Rambutyo and Lou, Admiralty Islands.
M.m. proxima: Mussau and Emirau, St. Matthias Islands.
Habitat:
Found up to 700 m in forest, tall secondary growth and in trees around cultivated and village areas.
Wild Diet:
Feeds on lichen and fungi from tree trunks.
Ecology and Behaviour:
As in Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot (M. pusio): seen in pairs or groups of up to 30 individuals, moving in amongst the foliage and lianas (long rope-like branches), using their tails as props, like a woodpecker. They pause frequently, turning their heads to and fro, possibly to look for predators.
Clutch and Egg Size:
Probably 3 eggs.
Breeding Season:
Possibly year-round; one nest reported in arboreal termitarium.
Related Links:
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