Brehm's Tiger-Parrot
Psittacella brehmii
A medium-sized parrot of mid-montane forest and edge. Green body with barred back and rump, brown face with pale silver bill and red under the tail. Male has yellow crescent bordering the brown face and female has additional barring on underparts. Forages sluggishly at all levels and easily overlooked, although sometimes flushed from tracks where it takes grit. Similar to Painted Tiger-Parrot, but Brehm’s is larger, has a green rump and brown cheeks. Call, a whining, nasal “chew!”, or an upslurred “chuuit!”.
Identification
Brehm's tiger parrot is the largest species in the genus Psittacella and is about 24 cm (9.4 in) in length and weighs between 94 and 120 g (3.3 and 4.2 oz). It is mainly green with a dull olive-brown head, transverse yellow and black bars on the back and rump, and red undertail coverts. Its irises are red, and its beak is blueish-grey fading to white at the tip. Its legs are grey. The male has a yellow stripe on the sides of its neck and a green breast without barring. Females lack the yellow stripe on the neck and have a yellow and black striped breast. Juveniles resemble females, but have yellowish-brown irises and a more faded green and pale-yellow barring on the breast. These quite parrots are once in a while found in aviculture and there have been no recorded reproducing successes. They are extremely susceptible; once in a while enduring more than 2 to 3 months in captivity. Minimum aviary measurements: 2.5 x 1 x 2 m (8 x 3 x 6 ft). Temperature ought to be controlled within the range of their normal natural surroundings (not very high, not very low).
Taxonomy
There are four subspecies occurring in three distinct populations:<p>In Brehm's central range the Painted Tiger parrot, P. picta, takes over above 2700m, but that species is not found in the Huon range, where Brehm's ranges higher. They are found singly or in small groups and feed on seeds and berries in the sub-canopy or near ground level.
- Scientific name
- Psittacella brehmii
- Authority
- Schlegel, 1871
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Psittacella
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot
Loriculus beryllinus
Tiny, short-tailed, bright green parrot. Both sexes show red bill and red rump, while male also possesses a scarlet crown. Typically found in ones or twos in the canopy of forests in the Wet Zone, but also wooded areas outside of that zone. Confined to Sri Lanka, where the extremely small size and short tail make it easily identified from all other parrots on the island. Often given flight call is a metallic “zit-zit-zit”. Can also be given singly, as a drawn out “zeeet”.
Rufous-vented Tapaculo
Scytalopus femoralis
A fairly common cloud forest tapaculo found in the eastern Andes of northern and central Peru. Adult is gray with brown bars on the lower underparts. Young birds are browner and extensively marked with buff bars and scales. Similar to Trilling Tapaculo and Junin Tapaculo, and identification should be based on range and voice. Rufous-vented Tapaculo gives sharp chips and low frog-like notes, either alone or in an accelerating series. Inhabits forest understory and usually tough to see.
Tawny Antpitta
Grallaria quitensis
Medium-sized antpitta found in elfin forest and páramo near or above treeline in the Andes from western Colombia to extreme northwestern Peru. Typical antpitta shape: plump with short tail and long legs. Dull brownish plumage, darker above and buffier below. Sexes similar. Fairly common and much more conspicuous than most other antpittas; frequently seen bounding around in the open, though typically close to shrubby cover. Sometimes sings from a fairly prominent perch; listen for three piping whistles, a high first note followed by two lower notes.
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