Justification This species is suspected to have undergone a moderately rapid decline owing to forest loss and conversion. It has a small range, but this is not yet severely fragmented or restricted to few locations. The species is therefore classified as Near Threatened.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author (Gray, 1848)

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 47 cm. Bright green parrot with long tail and striking orange-yellow breast and belly. Head is darker and merges into sooty-black towards the beak. Tail and flight feathers have heavy blue suffusion. Black bill and feet. Immature birds are similar to adults but have horn-coloured bills. Similar spp. Only large native parrot on Viti Levu, though there are a small number of naturalised Crimson Shining-parrot P. splendens from Kadavu and Red Shining-parrot P. tabuensis from Koro, Gau, Vanua Levu and Taveuni, but their red underparts and head are unmistakable. Voice Wide variety of raucous, penetrating squawks and screeches, uttered both in flight and when perched. Hints Can be found in any forested area on Viti Levu.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

66,000 - 108,000

decreasing

10,500 km²

Yes

Range & population Prosopeia personata is endemic to Fiji, occurring only on the island of Viti Levu and perhaps formerly on the nearby island of Ovalau. It is not uncommon, and surveys in 2002-2005 indicate that the total population could be in the region of 88,000 birds⁷.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It is found in forest and thick secondary growth at all altitudes (although most remaining forest is in the mountainous interior), frequently venturing into mangroves and fruiting trees in farmland and gardens^1,2,3. However, breeding is probably restricted to mature forest only⁵. It feeds mostly on fruit, but also flowers, insects, seeds and berries, and nests in holes or a crack in a large forest tree, or a cavity in the top of a stump².

Threats The main threat comes from deforestation (less than 50% of Viti Levu remains forested), the resulting forest fragmentation, and the felling of large trees that are used for nesting². Over the last few decades, native forest was rapidly converted to mahogany plantations, causing significant loss of habitat for the species. This conversion has now largely ended and the rate of native forest loss is estimated to be back to the underlying level of 0.5-0.8 % per year, equating to 9-12% over 15 years^8,9. There is some domestic traffic, but the "red" shining-parrots (P. spendens and P. tabuensis) are more important, with probably only one in ten shining-parrots in captivity being this species⁶.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II. It is protected under Fijian law, but existing legislation regarding the capture of wild parrots is inadequate and unenforceable⁴. It occurs in several protected areas including Tomaniivi Nature Reserve, Koryanitu National Heritage Park, Colo-i-Suva Forest Park and the Garrick Memorial Park⁶.

Conservation measures proposed Review existing legislation⁴. Set standards for the keeping of parrots in captivity to reduce demand⁴. Promote the creation of community-based forest reserves. Determine its tolerance of logged forest and secondary growth. Monitor its numbers in protected sites, e.g. Koryanitu and Colo-i-Suva.

References 1. Clunie (1984). 2. Juniper and Parr (1998). 3. Pratt et al. (1987). 4. SPREP (2000). 5. Watling (2000). 6. D. Watling in litt. (2000). 7. Jackson and Jit (2004). 8. G. Dutson in litt. (2005). 9. Claasen (1991).

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International), Helen Temple (BirdLife International)

Contributors Guy Dutson (Birds Australia), Dick Watling (Environment Consultants Fiji)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Prosopeia personata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums