Psittaciformes - Tanygnathus

Great-Billed Parrot - Tanygnathus Megalorynchos - Least Concern

The great-billed parrot (Tanygnathus megalorynchos) also known as Moluccan parrot or island parrot, is a medium-sized, approximately 38 cm long, green parrot with a massive red bill, cream iris, blackish shoulders, olive green back, pale blue rump and yellowish green underparts. The female is typically smaller than the male, but otherwise the sexes are similar.

The great-billed parrot is found in forest, woodland and mangrove in the south-east Asian islands of Maluku, Raja Ampat, Talaud, Sangir, Sarangani, the Lesser Sundas, and nearby small islands. The diet consists mainly of fruits.

It remains widespread and locally fairly common, and consequently has been rated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Five subspecies are recognized:

Tanygnathus megalorynchos megalorhynchus – Sulawesi and nearby islands to Maluku and west Papuan islands
Tanygnathus megalorynchos affinis – south Maluku Islands
Tanygnathus megalorynchos sumbensis – Sumba (east Lesser Sunda Islands)
Tanygnathus megalorynchos hellmayri. – Rote Island, Semau and southwest Timor (east Lesser Sundas)
Tanygnathus megalorynchos subaffinis. – Babar and Tanimbar Islands