New species of parrot, mouse found in Camiguin

A brightly plumaged parrot and a long-tailed forest mouse unique to the Philippines have been discovered in the vanishing rainforest of Camiguin Island, US-based researchers said on Thursday.

Camiguin, a volcanic island in the southern Philippines, is a treasure trove for fauna, and already had an endemic species of rodent and frog before the discovery of the rusty brown mouse and the green hanging parrot, known among locals as "Colasisi."

But Camiguin's wildlife was at risk from deforestation, researchers, writing in Fieldiana:Zoology, a scientific journal published by the Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History, warned.

"Knowing that at least 54 species of birds and at least 24 species of mammals live on Camiguin and that some of these animals are found nowhere else on earth, makes us realize how important this island is," said Lawrence Heaney, curator of mammals at the Field Museum.

"For these animals to survive, we've got to save the dwindling forests where they live."

A diverse archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines hosts a wealth of endemic flora and fauna but more than 70 percent of its original forests have been destroyed.

The new species of parrot was known to locals because of its value in the pet trade. The bird's throat and thighs are bright blue and the top of its head and tail are brilliant scarlet-orange.

Males and females have identical plumage, which is quite unusual in this group of parrot, and researchers gave it a new name - Loriculus camiguinensis, or Camiguin hanging parrot.

"If we did not have a series of specimens from Camiguin and an additional series of hanging parrots from other Philippine islands, we probably would have assumed that the single bird that prompted our investigation was just odd looking, and we would not have been able to recognize it as distinctive," said John Bates, Curator of Birds and Chair of Zoology at The Field Museum, and a co-author of one of the Fieldiana reports. - Philippine Star News Service