Blue-winged Parrotlet
Encyclopedia
The Blue-winged Parrotlet (Forpus xanthopterygius) is a small parrot
found in much of South America
. It includes the Turquoise-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus xanthopterygius spengeli), which sometimes is treated as a separate species
. The Blue-winged Parrotlet is mainly found in lowlands, but locally up to 1200m in south-eastern Brazil
. It occurs in woodland
, scrub, savanna
, and pasture
s. Flocks are usually around 20 birds but can grow to over 50 around fruiting trees or seeding grass
es. It is generally common and widespread, though more localized in the Amazon Basin
.
The Blue-winged Parrotlet is a short (12 cm) stocky mainly green bird
with a short tapered tail. Sexually dimorphic, the males have blue on the primary and underwing coverts
, the remiges and the rump (blue in wings greatly reduced in F. x. spengeli). The face, ear coverts, thighs and vent area are a brighter emerald
green. Females, which lack the identifying blue coloration, are easily confused with the Green-rumped Parrotlet
, but there is little overlap in their distributions. The subspecies
varies primarily in the overall darkness and the amount of yellow to the plumage
.
(F. passerinus), but today all authorities recognized the two as separate species. It is also possible that the subspecies spengeli is better classified as a subspecies of the Mexican Parrotlet
(F. cyanopygis), or, more likely, a species of its own, the Turquoise-rumped Parrotlet (F. spengeli).
has been more stable than the binomial
. F. xanthopterygius initially referred to two species, one of which was a different species, the Canary-winged Parakeet
. Consequently, the Brazilian ornithologist Pinto discarded the name F. xanthopterygius for the Blue-winged Parrotlet in 1945, and instead applied the next oldest name, F. crassirostris. That same year it was mistakenly written up as F. xanthopterygius crassirostris and it reverted to F. xanthopterygius again. In 1978, Pinto mentioned the mistake in Novo catálogo das aves do Brasil and the name was changed to F. crassirostris. However, as was pointed out in 1999, the original name F. xanthopterygius remains valid per ICZN
rules, and consequently this name has been re-applied to the Blue-winged Parrotlet. To increase the confusion, the name of the nominate subspecies also changed: F. x. xanthopterygius is the subspecies formerly listed as F. c. vividus.
These birds were among the first brought back to Portugal in the 16th century by voyagers to Brazil. They were called "toim" (plural, tois) by the Tupi Indians.
(mentioned differences are for adult males):
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...
found in much of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. It includes the Turquoise-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus xanthopterygius spengeli), which sometimes is treated as a separate species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. The Blue-winged Parrotlet is mainly found in lowlands, but locally up to 1200m in south-eastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It occurs in woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, scrub, savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, and pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
s. Flocks are usually around 20 birds but can grow to over 50 around fruiting trees or seeding grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es. It is generally common and widespread, though more localized in the Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
.
Description
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
with a short tapered tail. Sexually dimorphic, the males have blue on the primary and underwing coverts
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
, the remiges and the rump (blue in wings greatly reduced in F. x. spengeli). The face, ear coverts, thighs and vent area are a brighter emerald
Emerald
Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
green. Females, which lack the identifying blue coloration, are easily confused with the Green-rumped Parrotlet
Green-rumped Parrotlet
The Green-rumped Parrotlet, Forpus passerinus, is a small parrot. It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Caribbean regions of Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas and Brazil, on the downstream Amazon River...
, but there is little overlap in their distributions. The subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
varies primarily in the overall darkness and the amount of yellow to the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
.
Taxonomy
For a while it was considered conspecific with the Green-rumped ParrotletGreen-rumped Parrotlet
The Green-rumped Parrotlet, Forpus passerinus, is a small parrot. It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Caribbean regions of Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas and Brazil, on the downstream Amazon River...
(F. passerinus), but today all authorities recognized the two as separate species. It is also possible that the subspecies spengeli is better classified as a subspecies of the Mexican Parrotlet
Mexican Parrotlet
The Mexican Parrotlet is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is endemic to Mexico.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
(F. cyanopygis), or, more likely, a species of its own, the Turquoise-rumped Parrotlet (F. spengeli).
Name
This is a rare case in which the common nameCommon name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
has been more stable than the binomial
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
. F. xanthopterygius initially referred to two species, one of which was a different species, the Canary-winged Parakeet
Canary-winged Parakeet
The White-winged Parakeet , also known as the Canary-winged Parakeet, is a small parrot native to the Amazon River basin from southeast Colombia to the River’s mouth in Brazil...
. Consequently, the Brazilian ornithologist Pinto discarded the name F. xanthopterygius for the Blue-winged Parrotlet in 1945, and instead applied the next oldest name, F. crassirostris. That same year it was mistakenly written up as F. xanthopterygius crassirostris and it reverted to F. xanthopterygius again. In 1978, Pinto mentioned the mistake in Novo catálogo das aves do Brasil and the name was changed to F. crassirostris. However, as was pointed out in 1999, the original name F. xanthopterygius remains valid per ICZN
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals...
rules, and consequently this name has been re-applied to the Blue-winged Parrotlet. To increase the confusion, the name of the nominate subspecies also changed: F. x. xanthopterygius is the subspecies formerly listed as F. c. vividus.
These birds were among the first brought back to Portugal in the 16th century by voyagers to Brazil. They were called "toim" (plural, tois) by the Tupi Indians.
Subspecies
There are six subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
(mentioned differences are for adult males):
- F. x. xanthopterygius (formerly F. c. vividus): N. ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, E. Brazil from BahiaBahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
south. Secondaries and coverts darker blue than other races. - F. x. flavissimus: E. Brazil from Bahia north. Front of face yellow.
- F. x. olallae: Near CodajasCodajásCodajás is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 19,957 and its area is 18,712 km²....
and ItacoatiaraItacoatiaraItacoatiara is one of the 48 official neighborhoods into which the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is divided.- Beach :Itacoatiara beach is located about 30 minutes east of downtown Niterói by car, or one hour by bus....
on the north bank of the Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
in the AmazonAmazon BasinThe Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
in Brazil. Lighter blue, primary coverts shading towards violet. Smaller. Possibly better considered a junior synonym of F. x. crassirostris. - F. x. crassirostris: NE PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, E EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, SE ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, NW Brazil. Like olalle, but underwing coverts darker, other blue lighter. - F. x. flavescens: Central-eastern Peru to E BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Head and underparts a yellower green than nominate (though face not as yellow as flavissimus). Rump paler blue, undertail more bluish. - F. x. spengeli: N. ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Blues paler than nominate, turquoise with some violet mixed into underwings. Remiges mainly green; only base is blue.
External links
- World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profile