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
Flaming Sunbird
Aethopyga flagrans
A small bird of forest and edge from the lowlands to low elevations in the mountains on Luzon and Catanduanes. Has a fairly long, curved bill, olive upperparts, and a yellowish upper belly. Male has a blackish tail, face, throat, and chest, with green iridescence on the forecrown and purple on the throat. Similar to Olive-backed Sunbird, but has a red chest spot, an orange wash on the upper belly, and no white outer tail feathers. Female has a gray throat and lacks the yellow brow. Voice includes a high-pitched double-noted call, “chik-chik!”
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Ramosomyia violiceps
This attractive hummingbird has pure white underparts. Also note bright red bill with black tip, purple crown, and dull brown back. Prefers riparian habitats, such as woodlands along rivers. Common in Mexico; only known from a few locations in U.S., but unmistakable in U.S. range. Visits hummingbird feeders.
Gray-crowned Tetraka
Xanthomixis cinereiceps
Attractive, medium-sized tetraka. Green back, gray head, white throat, and yellowish underparts. Madagascar endemic that is found in eastern rainforest at middle and high elevations. Inhabits the mid-story, most often feeding by creeping along mossy branches like a woodpecker. Frequently joins flocks with tetrakas and other species. Call is a series of high, silvery, sputtered “sit” notes. Separated from Spectacled Tetraka by its smaller size, brighter underparts, gray head, and tree-creeping habits.
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