Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This parrot qualifies as Vulnerable because it has a small range, in which its habitat is declining in extent and quality. The population is small and declining. Its status is likely to deteriorate further if conservation measures are not implemented in the near future.
Population justification
The population is estimated to number 2,500-9,999 mature individuals based on an assessment of known records, descriptions of abundance and range size. This is consistent with recorded population density estimates for congeners or close relatives with a similar body size, and the fact that only a proportion of the estimated Extent of Occurrence is likely to be occupied. This estimate is equivalent to 3,750-14,999 individuals, rounded here to 3,500-15,000 individuals. Even though the species is locally common, its overall rarity cannot be disputed, and its restricted habitat and altitudinal range suggest that it must be both numerically constrained and susceptible to further habitat loss. The species is considered to form one subpopulation.
Trend justification
The population trend has not been directly quantified. However, the species's distribution seems to correspond with the two major natural forest types on Flores - moist evergreen and semi-deciduous - and Flores Hanging-parrot is strictly depending on mature forests. These are being cleared for agriculture and the collection of firewood and construction materials. Tracewski et al. (2016) measured the forest loss within this species’s range between 2000 and 2012 as c.28 km2. This roughly equates to a rate of forest loss of 4% over three generations (13.2 years) for this species, with the assumption that habitat loss has continued at the same rate to the present day. Population changes may be proportional to forest cover change. Hence, the species is thought to decline at a rate of <10% over three generations.
Loriculus flosculus is endemic to Flores and satellite islands, Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is known from eight documented localities, at some of which it is locally common in groups of up to 20 birds (BirdLife International 2001). At Tanjung Kerita Mese, population density was estimated at c.10 individuals per hectare. The species is quite easily overlooked. Recent records on Rinca Island from outside its known altitudinal range and preferred habitat (Imansyah et al. 2008) suggest that it may be more cosmopolitan in its distribution and therefore less threatened, but this requires further research.
The species almost exclusively occurs in primary semi-evergreen forest, particularly with an abundance of fruiting figs, an important food source. More recently, it has also been recorded in moist deciduous forest on limestone, e.g. in Eucalyptus forest (C. Trainor in litt. 2007). Its range apparently closely equates to that of these two forest-types on Flores, although it also visits degraded roadside habitat. The species occupies a narrow altitudinal band between 800 m and 1,200 m, but has occasionally been recorded at 450 m or even at sea-level in deciduous forest on Rinca Island (Imansyah et al. 2008, Collar et al. 2018).
Habitat destruction through the combined impacts of firewood collection, commercial logging, timber extraction for construction materials and clearance for agriculture together represent the most pertinent threat. The loss and fragmentation of forests is already extensive on Flores, where little semi-evergreen forest below 1,000 m is included within protected areas. These threats are compounded by human population expansion. Even within those areas that receive protection, illegal logging is continuing as there is virtually no governmental enforcement of laws. Moist deciduous forest is currently being extensively cleared through land grabbing and establishment of agricultural areas, a factor that is inevitably reducing the range and population of this species. Forest clearance continues in the coastal belt to make way for crops, and illegal logging continues in protected areas.
Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. Two recent surveys have targeted endemic birds on Flores. Two sites at which this species occurs are proposed for establishment as protected areas: Tanjung Kerita Mese and Egon Iliwuli (on Gunung Egon).
11-12 cm. Arboreal parrot. Male predominantly green, lighter on underparts, with red bill, elongated red spot on throat, orange legs and dark red nape, bright red rump and uppertail-coverts. Female has red on throat reduced or absent. Similar spp. All other parrots on Flores are much larger. Tawny-breasted Parrot-finch Erythrura hyperythra is smaller, has underparts rich buff and behaves rather differently. Voice Sharp screeching strrt strrt in flight. Also chi-chi-chi-chi-chi when performing an apparent display flight.
Text account compilers
Martin, R., Taylor, J., Tobias, J., Elliott, N., Davidson, P., Bird, J., Hermes, C., Benstead, P.
Contributors
Imansyah, J. & Trainor, C.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Flores Hanging-parrot Loriculus flosculus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/flores-hanging-parrot-loriculus-flosculus on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.