Indigo-winged Parrot
Hapalopsittaca fuertesi
Rare and endangered parrot restricted to high elevations in the central Andes of Colombia. Plumage is golden green with a sapphire crown; the blue and red in the wings and tail are usually evident when perched, and can be more striking when seen in flight. Usually encountered in groups of several to a dozen birds that fly from fruiting tree to fruiting tree in compact flocks. Formerly very difficult to find, but in recent years it has been reliably encountered along dirt roads high above the town of Santa Rosa de Cabal.
Identification
Fuertes's parrot is about 23 to 24 cm (9.1 to 9.4 in) long and weighs about 124 g (4.4 oz). Adults have a thin red band just above the bill, an olive-yellow forecrown and face, a blue crown, and a green hindneck. Their upperparts are green with pale fringes on the mantle feathers. Their throat and breast are green with a golden-olive tinge and their belly, thighs, and undertail coverts are yellowish green; their belly has variable amounts of dull red. The bend of their wing and its leading edge are red, the median and greater coverts dark violet-blue, their primaries black with purplish blue edges, and their secondaries are mostly blue with some green edges. Their underwing coverts are crimson and the rest of their wing's underside is greenish blue. Their tail is blue with red on the inner webs of the central feathers; the tail is duller below than above. Their bill is horn-colored with a darker base to the mandible, their eyes yellowish, and their legs and feet dark gray.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Hapalopsittaca fuertesi
- Authority
- (Chapman, 1912)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Hapalopsittaca
Range and habitat
Fuertes's parrot is found only on the west slope of Colombia's Central Andes in the departments of Quindío and Risaralda. There were no records of the species between 1992 and 2002. Following its "rediscovery" two Natural Reserves were established, Alto Quindío Acaime and Cañón del Quindío. More recently two other reserves have been established in its core habitat, Loro Coroniazul and Giles-Fuertesi Bird Reserves. Fuertes's parrot inhabits wet temperate cloudforest characterized by many epiphytes and oaks (Quercus). Most of the records are between elevations of 2,900 and 3,150 m (9,500 and 10,300 ft) though some have been as low as 2,160 m (7,100 ft) and as high as 3,500 m (11,500 ft).
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The movements, if any, of Fuertes's parrot are not known, but elevational movements are probable. <p>Fuertes's parrot typically feeds in flocks of up to about 15 individuals. Its diet is fruit and that of Antidaphne viscoidea is especially favored. <p>Extensive studies of the breeding biology of Fuertes's parrot have been conducted in concert with efforts to increase the species' population. Most of the preserves provide nest boxes that are closely monitored. The species nests between January and May, using both the nest boxes and natural cavities in trees. The clutch size is three or four eggs. The female alone incubates them, for about 24 to 27 days. Both parents care for the young after hatching; fledging occurs 55 to 65 days after hatch.<p>The flight call of Fuertes's parrot is "a rather nasal, grating “krraa” "; it makes a similar call when perched.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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