Colasisi
Definition
The colasisi (Loriculus philippensis), or Philippine hanging parrot, is the smallest parrot in the Philippines, about 14 centimeters long, endemic to the country’s islands. Bright green with a red forehead patch and rump, it is named for its habit of hanging upside down from branches to feed (Colasisi).
Identities
| Source Type | Identity |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Colasisi |
| Wikidata | Q221225 |
| DBpedia | N/A |
Also Known As
Philippine hanging parrot, lorito, lumalagpak
Examples and Analogies
The colasisi is the acrobat of the Philippine parrot world: where macaws climb deliberately, this thumb-sized parrot dangles like a Christmas ornament from a twig, using its feet as a fifth limb to reach nectar and soft fruit.
Usage Scenarios
The species appears in forest-edge and garden birding across Luzon, Mindoro, and other islands where flowering and fruiting trees remain. Conservationists use it as an indicator of nectar resources, and aviculture literature cites it when discussing Philippine parrot husbandry and law, since wild capture is prohibited.
Strategies
Conservation approaches focus on preserving flowering and fruiting native trees, enforcing the ban on capturing wild parrots for the pet trade, and clarifying the taxonomy of island populations, several of which are increasingly treated as distinct species requiring separate assessments.
Security and Safety Measures
Philippine wildlife law protects the colasisi from capture, sale, and possession, with permits required for legitimate scientific or breeding activities. Nest poaching for the cage-bird trade remains the chief enforcement concern at the barangay level.
Historical Context
The species was among the early Philippine birds described to science, with island variants catalogued through the Spanish and American colonial periods. Twentieth-century deforestation and the pet trade reduced many island populations, and modern genetic work has proposed elevating several subspecies to full species status.
Challenges and Controversies
Habitat loss and trapping continue to depress populations, while taxonomic splits complicate conservation accounting because each newly recognized species carries its own threatened status assessment. The international cage-bird literature still sometimes lists Philippine hanging parrots as if legally obtainable, irritating local conservationists.