Blue Winged Racquet-Tail (Prioniturus verticalis) mainly has dark green plumage on its back, with an olive/green color on its breast and belly. Their bill has a blue-grey hue. The primary feathers are blue on outer webs, while the middle tail feathers are green. The long center feathers (racquets) are black, tinged with blue. Their side tail feathers are green, tipped with black.Male birds have a pale blue crown with small red patch on their forehead and forecrown. Females look identical to the male except, they do not have a red spot on their forecrown.
Prioniturus verticalis is a rather tame bird and does not usually fear human presence. This tame behavior has led to its critically endangered status). This behavior is taken advantage of by trappers and has made it an easy target to capture for the illegal exotic pet trade. The birds feed on fruit, and on the flowers of fruiting trees. They are usually seen in pairs flying over and in the high canopy of trees. It is also rather noisy in flight.
Once prevalent throughout all the islands of the Sulu Archipelagoin the Philippines, the blue-winged racquet-tail is now only found on isolated places on Tawi-Tawi due to rapid habitat destruction during the past 200 years. Deforestation of the blue-winged racquet-tail's natural habitat to make way for agriculture, mining, and the uncontrolled settlement by humans has destroyed most of this bird's original habitat. Only a small population of 50-249 birds now remain on Tiwi-Tiwi (and the world). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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