Pygmy Hanging Parrot

The pygmy hanging parrot, red-billed hanging parrot or green hanging parrot (Loriculus exilis) is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae and is one of the smallest members of its genus. It is distinctive by its small size, orange bill and bright green plumage with a red throat. The bird is green all over. Its face consists of an orange bill and red throat. The tail is red. It is sometimes confused with the great hanging parrot due to their similar color but the pygmy hanging parrot is smaller and has a more red bill, green forehead, and uniform green mantle. It is endemic to forest, mangrove and other wooded habitats on the Indonesian island called Sulawesi. == Taxonomy == The pygmy hanging parrot (Loriculus exilis) belongs to the order Psittaciformes which contains parrots, macaws, cockatoos and lories. It belongs to the family Psittaculidae which contains five subfamilies which span the Old World: Loriinae, Agapornithinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. Loriculus exilis is placed in the subfamily Psittaculinae, which include Polytelini, Psittaculini, and Micropsittini (pygmy parrots). Micropsittini is a tribe of birds phylogenetically sister to Polytelini/Psittaculini and has a deep stem age of 27.6 million years ago. The species tree…