Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet
Touit huetii
Small parrot, widespread but uncommon across the lowlands of northern South America. Difficult to see well unless a flock drops into a clay lick; otherwise, most often detected by voice as they pass over in high-flying flocks. Overall green with some brownish or yellowish tones on the head and dark forehead. Note the blue and red shoulder; the red especially can be limited or completely hidden. In flight, shows bright red underwing covert and a short, squared-off tail. Compare with the slightly larger Cobalt-winged Parakeet.
Identification
The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 58 to 62 g (2.0 to 2.2 oz). Its body is mostly green, darker above than below. The front of its face is dark with a white eye ring and its crown and nape olive-brown. Its upper wing coverts are dark blue, its primaries black, and its carpal bar, underwing coverts, and axillaries red. The male's tail has green central feathers and red outer ones with black tips; females' tails are all greenish yellow with black tips. Both sexes' under tail coverts are yellow. Immature birds are like adult females but with a green face.
Taxonomy
The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Touit huetii
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1830)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Touit
Range and habitat
The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet has a disjunct distribution. It is found in northeastern Venezuela and adjacent Guyana, from southern Venezuela through southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru into northern Bolivia, and in the eastern Amazon Basin of Brazil. The species is thought to possibly bridge the gaps between the range sections. It has occurred as a vagrant on Trinidad, and undocumented sight records in Suriname lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to call it hypothetical in that country. <p>The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet inhabits lowland terra firme and várzea forests. In elevation it mostly occurs below 900 m (3,000 ft) but has occasionally been recorded as high as 1,300 m (4,300 ft).
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet is non-migratory but most probably nomadic in Amazonia. They are seldom "found in one area for more than a few weeks at a time".<p>The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet's foraging technique and diet have not been documented.<p>The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet's breeding season apparently includes April in southern Venezuela and September to December in southern Brazil. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.<p>The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet's call is a "very high 'tjoot-tjoot-tjoot-' mixed with 'tjer tjer-'." Large flocks in flight make a "continuous, monotonous, noisy chattering." It gives a soft "churr" when perched.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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