The Vernal Hanging Parrot (Loriculus vernalis) is a small parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 which is a resident breeder from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 , Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 and some other areas of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, it is replaced by the very similar endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot

Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot

The Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is a small parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka.-Description:The Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is a small, mainly green hanging parrot, only 13 cm long with a short tail. The adult has a red crown and rump. The nape and back have on orange tint. The...

, (L. beryllinus). It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. They frequent the Banyan

Banyan

A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...

 tree for the fruit and Plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

 trees for the nectar from the flowers.

Vernal Hanging Parrot is a bird of dry jungle and cultivation. It nests in holes in trees, laying 2-4 white eggs.

This is a small, mainly green hanging parrot

Hanging parrot

The hanging parrots are birds in the parrot genus Loriculus . This is a group of small parrots from tropical southern Asia.These little parrots, about 13 cm long, are mostly green plumaged and short-tailed. Often head coloring helps to identify individual species...

, only 14 cm long with a short tail. The adult male has a red rump and bill, and blue throat patch. The female birds has green patch.

Immature birds have a duller rump, and lack the throat patch.

Vernal Hanging Parrot is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually in small groups outside the breeding season. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a raucous chattering.

Breeding

Vernal Hanging Parrots nest in tree cavities. The nests are lined with fragments of leaves. There are usually three eggs in a clutch. The eggs are white in color. The female incubates the eggs for 20 days and the chicks leave the nest about 33 days from hatching.