Green-rumped Parrotlet
Encyclopedia
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
. It has been introduced in Jamaica
, Curaçao
, Barbados
and Tobago
, and was not recorded on Trinidad prior to 1916.
Its habitat is open forest and scrub. The female lays five to seven white eggs in a hole in a termite
nest, tree cavity, or even hollow pipe, and incubates the clutch for 18 days to hatching, with about another five weeks to fledging.
The Green-rumped Parrotlet is about 12 cm (4.8 in) long and weighs 23 g and is the smallest parrot found in the Americas
. It is mainly bright green with a short tail and pinkish bill. The male has a brilliant blue wing patch, and females sometimes have some yellow on the head. The subspecies F. p. viridissimus of Venezuela
, Trinidad and Tobago is darker green than the nominate F. p. passerinus, and the males have more strongly blue-tinged wings.
Green-rumped Parrotlets make light, twittering calls. They eat seeds including those of grass
es. They are very gregarious and roost communally; large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk.
This is a widespread and common species which has benefited from deforestation.
According to Stotz et al. 1996 and del Hoyo et al. 1997 .. birds of South America are not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources(IUCN) Red List.
However avian breeders find it more difficult to locate non-related breeding pairs.
Forpus passerinus viridissimus Found in North Venezuela, Trindad and Tobago. Also known as Venezuelan Green Parrotlet. Like F.p. passerinus, but the male has paler blue markings. The green plumage on both males and females varies significantly based on what region they are from.
Forpus passerinus deliciosus Found in the lower Amazonian Basin in Brazil. Also known as Delicate Parrotlet, Santarem Passerine Parrotlet. Like F. p. passerinus, but the male has an emerald green rump with bluish tinge and broad pale blue edging on the greater wing coverts. Female has more yellow throughout and a deeper yellow facial area.
Forpus passerinus cyanochlorus Found in Roraima-Brazil. Also known as Schlegel's Parrotlet. Like F.P. Passerinus, but the female's tail feathers are more green on the underside. Also has more yellow throughout and a green forehead.
Forpus passerinus cyanophanes Found in the areas around Northern Colombia. Also known as Rio Hacha Parrotlet. Like F.p. passerinus. Male's blue wing-markings are more violet, and show more blue when wing is closed than in the other subspecies.
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...
. It is a resident breeding bird
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...
in tropical 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...
, from Caribbean regions of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, 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...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
south and east to the Guianas and 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...
, on the downstream Amazon River
Amazon River
The 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...
. It has been introduced in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
, and was not recorded on Trinidad prior to 1916.
Its habitat is open forest and scrub. The female lays five to seven white eggs in a hole in a termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
nest, tree cavity, or even hollow pipe, and incubates the clutch for 18 days to hatching, with about another five weeks to fledging.
The Green-rumped Parrotlet is about 12 cm (4.8 in) long and weighs 23 g and is the smallest parrot found in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. It is mainly bright green with a short tail and pinkish bill. The male has a brilliant blue wing patch, and females sometimes have some yellow on the head. The subspecies F. p. viridissimus of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Trinidad and Tobago is darker green than the nominate F. p. passerinus, and the males have more strongly blue-tinged wings.
Green-rumped Parrotlets make light, twittering calls. They eat seeds including those of 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. They are very gregarious and roost communally; large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk.
This is a widespread and common species which has benefited from deforestation.
According to Stotz et al. 1996 and del Hoyo et al. 1997 .. birds of South America are not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources(IUCN) Red List.
However avian breeders find it more difficult to locate non-related breeding pairs.
Subspecies
Forpus passerinus passerinus Found in the Guianas. Also known as Nominate subspecies. The male is green with a brighter green at the forehead and cheeks, underside of the body and behind the neck. Lower back, rump and upper tail are bright emerald green. Underside of wings and edge of wing are blue. Females are the same as males, but lacking any blue. They may have more yellowish colorings on forehead. Green-Rumped Parrotlets have a sleek body (feathers held tight), their eyes are dark brown, and their legs are a pale pink.Forpus passerinus viridissimus Found in North Venezuela, Trindad and Tobago. Also known as Venezuelan Green Parrotlet. Like F.p. passerinus, but the male has paler blue markings. The green plumage on both males and females varies significantly based on what region they are from.
Forpus passerinus deliciosus Found in the lower Amazonian Basin in Brazil. Also known as Delicate Parrotlet, Santarem Passerine Parrotlet. Like F. p. passerinus, but the male has an emerald green rump with bluish tinge and broad pale blue edging on the greater wing coverts. Female has more yellow throughout and a deeper yellow facial area.
Forpus passerinus cyanochlorus Found in Roraima-Brazil. Also known as Schlegel's Parrotlet. Like F.P. Passerinus, but the female's tail feathers are more green on the underside. Also has more yellow throughout and a green forehead.
Forpus passerinus cyanophanes Found in the areas around Northern Colombia. Also known as Rio Hacha Parrotlet. Like F.p. passerinus. Male's blue wing-markings are more violet, and show more blue when wing is closed than in the other subspecies.
External links
- World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profile
- Stamps (for Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
) with ~RangeMap - Green-rumped Parrotlet photo gallery VIREO
- Photo-High Res; Article greenbackedheron–"Tobago Birds"
- Photo-Medium Res; Article & species synopsis forpus.com
- Photo-Medium Res; Article pbase.com–"Eastern Venezuela"
