Ochre-marked Parakeet
Pyrrhura cruentata
Distinctive, globally threatened multicolored parakeet of humid forests and edges, usually found in groups. Long-tailed and mostly green overall with a red-brown crown and cheeks, a yellow ear patch, and a blue chest. Has blotchy red patches on the belly, shoulders, and undertail. Sexes similar.
Identification
This colourful parakeet is a predominantly green bird with conspicuous red patches on its belly, rump, and shoulder and before, below and behind the eye. The crown is dark brown to blackish, becoming mottled on the nape of the neck, and there is a broad, bright blue bib on the chest, extending thinly around the back of the neck to form a faint collar. The outer primaries are blue, and the tail is olive-green above, and brownish red below.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pyrrhura cruentata
- Authority
- (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1820)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Pyrrhura
Range and habitat
Pyrrhura cruentata was formerly common throughout much of south-east Bahia, Espírito Santo, east Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its current distribution is highly fragmented and now mostly restricted to isolated reserves. The stronghold is the Sooretama Biological Reserve and adjacent Linhares Forest Reserve, Espírito Santo. It remains common in Estação Vera Cruz (formerly the Porto Seguro Reserve), Bahia. Elsewhere it can be relatively common, but numbers in the large Chapada da Diamantina and Monte Pascoal National Parks, Bahia, appear low. It inhabits the canopy of lowland humid forest and edge, occasionally up to 960 meters. It has also been recorded in small clearings and selectively logged forest, and persists (or at least persisted) in agricultural areas where many forest trees are retained (such as shade cocoa plantations). It feeds on seeds and fruit of secondary growth trees such as Trema micrantha and Cecropia. Feeding on agricultural crops has not been observed in the wild. Breeding apparently occurs in the austral spring, when 2–4 eggs are laid in a tree-cavity.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The bird is listed on CITES Appendix I and is protected by Brazilian law. It occurs in the Chapada Diamantina and Monte Pascoal National Parks, Barrolândia Experimental Station, Linhares Forest Reserve, Caratinga Biological Station, Rio Doce and probably Desengano State Parks, and the Córrego Grande, Córrego do Veado and Sooretama Biological Reserves.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-backed Bittern
Botaurus dubius
Tiny secretive heron. Adult male has black back, brown neck, and streaked reddish-brown underparts. In flight, pale upperwing coverts contrast with dark back and dark flight feathers. Female and juvenile lack black back and have streaked underparts. Most commonly observed in early morning or evening clambering along the edge of reed beds. Calls include a distinctive repeated growling or croaking bark.
Lowland Akalat
Sheppardia cyornithopsis
A small shy akalat found in the lower levels of tall forests, often in dark shady areas near water. Note the reddish-brown back and wings, the gray face, and the bright red-orange chest contrasting with a white belly. Almost always found in lowland forest, but a few local populations are found higher up in the foothills. Within its range, most likely to be confused with Forest Robin, but note Lowland Akalat’s plain gray face and distinctive vocalizations. Song is a series of clear, melancholy whistles given with slight pauses in between, “wheeer, gowheer,” as well as faster, more resonant and metallic series of whistles.
Subtropical Doradito
Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis
A bright flycatcher found in marshes in the Andes from Colombia to Argentina. Yellow below and olive above, sometimes showing a hint of a dark mask and dull yellowish edges on the wing feathers. Distinctive in habitat, although could be confused with a female Masked Yellowthroat, which has a pinkish bill and legs. Forages singly or in pairs; can be difficult to see in dense marsh grasses. Mostly occurs from 1,000 to 3,500 m, but some appear to move into lowlands in the winter in southern part of range. Gives single nasal calls as well as a whirring noise produced by the wings.
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