Pygmy parrots are the smallest members of the 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...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

. There are six 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...

 of pygmy parrot; all in the genus Micropsitta, which is the only genus in the Micropsittini tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

.

Pygmy parrots are native to the forests of New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 and nearby islands. Pygmy parrots are tiny birds: fast-moving, mostly green with bright highlights. A pygmy parrot spends a good deal of time climbing through foliage, using its large feet and beak, and stiffened tail feather

Feather

Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...

s. At a little over 8 cm (3.5 in) long, the Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot is the smallest parrot species.

Pygmy parrots are also among the few species in the order (other examples include Pyrilia

Pyrilia

Pyrilia is a genus of parrots in the family Psittacidae. It was recently split from the now-monotypic Pionopsitta, and then briefly moved to Gypopsitta. But as Pyrilia was published a few months before Gypopsitta, the latter is a junior synonym.All are relatively short-tailed parrots that are...

and Nannopsittaca

Nannopsittaca

Nannopsittaca is a genus of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It contains the following species:* Tepui Parrotlet * Manu Parrotlet...

species) that have never been successfully kept, let alone bred, in captivity. All attempts to do so have resulted in the quick deaths of the little birds. Stress and dietary deficiencies are probably to blame. Pygmy parrots are among the few birds that feed on fungus

Fungus

A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...

 and lichen

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

, which play a major role in their diet. Their precise dietary needs are however poorly understood.

Description

Pygmy parrots are the smallest parrots and range is size from about 8 cm (3.5 in) to 10 cm (4 in). They have long toes and long curved claws. The shafts of their tail feathers are stiff and form projections at the end of the tail. The cere is prominent. The external appearance of the adult males and adult females differ to varying extents in different species. Juveniles are duller.

Taxonomy

The genus was defined by French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson

René-Primevère Lesson

René Primevère Lesson was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist.Lesson was born at Rochefort, and at the age of sixteen he entered the Naval Medical School there...

 in 1831. The name Micropsitta is derived from the Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 mikros meaning small and psitta for parrot.

The pygmy parrots consist of six species and several subspecies:

Genus: Micropsitta Lesson 1831 (pygmy parrots)

• Micropsitta keiensis (Salvadori 1876), Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta keiensis chloroxantha Oberholser 1917
  • Micropsitta keiensis keiensis (Salvadori 1876)
  • Micropsitta keiensis viridipectus (Rothschild 1911)
• Micropsitta geelvinkiana (Schlegel 1871), Geelvink Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta geelvinkiana geelvinkiana (Schlegel 1871)
  • Micropsitta geelvinkiana misoriensis (Salvadori 1876)
• Micropsitta pusio (Sclater, PL 1866), Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta pusio beccarii (Salvadori 1876)
  • Micropsitta pusio harterti Mayr 1940
  • Micropsitta pusio pusio (Sclater, PL 1866)
  • Micropsitta pusio stresemanni Hartert 1926
• Micropsitta meeki Rothschild & Hartert 1914, Meek's Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta meeki meeki Rothschild & Hartert 1914
  • Micropsitta meeki proxima Rothschild & Hartert 1924
• Micropsitta finschii (Ramsay, EP 1881), Finsch's Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta finschii aolae (Ogilvie-Grant 1888)
  • Micropsitta finschii finschii (Ramsay, EP 1881)
  • Micropsitta finschii nanina (Tristram 1891)
  • Micropsitta finschii tristrami (Rothschild & Hartert 1902)
  • Micropsitta finschii viridifrons (Rothschild & Hartert 1899)
• Micropsitta bruijnii (Salvadori 1875), Red-breasted Pygmy Parrot
  • Micropsitta bruijnii bruijnii (Salvadori 1875)
  • Micropsitta bruijnii buruensis Arndt 1999
  • Micropsitta bruijnii necopinata Hartert 1925
  • Micropsitta bruijnii pileata Mayr 1940
  • Micropsitta bruijnii rosea Mayr 1940