Erythrura prasina
The Pin-tailed Parrotfinch (*Erythrura prasina*) is a dazzlingly colored estrildid finch, renowned for its vibrant plumage and elegant form. Males are particularly striking, showcasing a brilliant green back, wings, and underparts, contrasted with a deep crimson rump and tail, which features elongated central "pin" feathers extending up to 6 cm beyond the others, giving the species its name. Their head is adorned with a rich cobalt-blue face and throat in the nominate subspecies (*E. p. prasi...
Found primarily in lowland forests, forest edges, bamboo thickets, secondary growth, and often near cultivation like rice fields, up to elevations of about 1,500 meters.
Primarily granivorous, feeding on a variety of grass seeds, bamboo seeds, and ripening rice grains, supplemented with small insects and spiders. They typically forage by gleaning seeds directly from plants.
Pin-tailed Parrotfinches are diurnal and generally social birds, often observed foraging in small, active flocks, especially outside the breeding season. They glean seeds and insects from vegetation, frequently perching on grass stalks or bamboo culms. During the breeding season, pairs become mor...
The Pin-tailed Parrotfinch is widely distributed across Southeast Asia, spanning a resident range from southern Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, extending south through Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo in Indonesia, and east to the Philippines. The nominate subspecies...
Least Concern
- The "Pin-tailed" name comes from the two elongated central tail feathers of the male, which can extend several centimeters beyond the rest. - Males of the nominate subspecies, *Erythrura prasina prasina*, are famous for their vivid blue faces, while the Philippine subspecies, *Erythrura prasina...