PARROTS AND MACAWS   -   PSITTACIDAE   -   PART II

Green-rumped Parrotlet Forpus passerinus passerinus Rio Barragan, Barinas state, Venezuela. Female. Forpus are usually very tough to photograph, since they are very small and tend to stay high up in the trees. This bird was one of a flock that came down very low and perched in some thick grass. (D3)

Pacific Parrotlet Forpus coelestis Just outside the city of Piura, Piura province, Peru. Male; the female presumably is the tail sticking up from the botton. This pair was nesting in the hollow ends of these bamboo poles that were being used as the frame of a hut. (D1)

Yellow-faced Parrotlet Forpus xanthops Marañon Canyon, Cajamarca department, Peru. The rarest of the genus, and the only one to be considered threatened. It occurs only arid parts of the Marañon Canyon in N Peru (BirdLife). This bird is feeding on cactus flowers. (D2)

Plain Parakeet Brotogeris tirica Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. I generally don't like feeder shots, but I thought this one was interesting: this is the only place in South America that I have seen a psittacid visiting a feeder, though see the next shot from Central America. (D2)

Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis jugularis Somewhere in the Canal Zone, Panama. I don't remember exactly where this was. A feeder at a private residence. Also in the photo are Gray-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps) and Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus). (S2)

Cobalt-winged Parakeet Brotogeris cyanoptera cyanoptera Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. This is not the prettiest example of this species, this pair looks like they are in mid-molt.  Wading around in a muddy clay lick didn't help either. (S3)		Golden-winged Parakeet Brotogeris chrysoptera chrysoptera Slopes of Cerro Humo, Paria Peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. The golden wing is often not visible when the bird is at rest. (S3)

Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet Touit huetii Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Touits are some of the most difficult of all birds to photograph in the wild, since they are scarce, shy, and tend to stay in the canopy. The parrot lick in Yasuní NP, about a kilometer's walk south of the river, gives an incredible chance to get up close and personal with one of them, as the birds come down to the ground to visit the clay lick. (D3)

Blue-fronted Parrotlet Touit dilectissimus RNA Arrierito Antioqueño, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. A pair allopreening next to a nest cavity that they were digging in an arboreal termite nest (see next photo). Few photos exist of this species in the wild! (D3)

Blue-fronted Parrotlet Touit dilectissimus RNA Arrierito Antioqueño, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. Hard at work digging a nesting cavity. Another name for this bird is Red-winged Parrotlet, for obvious reasons. (D3)

White-bellied Parrot Pionites leucogaster xanthomeria Manu Wildlife Center, Madre de Dios dept., Peru. One of the most colorful of all Neotropical parrots. This "clump" was preening together on top of a dead snag, about 100m from the top of the tower at the lodge. (D1)

Saffron-headed Parrot Gypopsitta pyrilia El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. A rare parrot of lowland rainforests of eastern Colombia and western Venezuela. While not a great shot, there are few photos of this species in the wild. (D3)

Orange-cheeked Parrot Gypopsitta barrabandi aurantiigena Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Another fabulous parrot at the Yasuní clay lick. Note that all former members of Pionopsitta except for Pileated Parrot (P. pileata) have been transferred to Gypopsitta. (D2)		Caica Parrot Gypopsitta caica San Miguel de Betania, Bolívar state, Venezuela. Obviously related to the previous species, the two seem to replace each other. Orange-cheeked is found in the western Amazon basin, and Caica in the northeastern Amazon and in the Guianas. (D3)

Red-faced Parrot Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops Cerro Toledo, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. This might look like a bad photo, but it is the only shot that I have ever seen of this species in the wild. This is a seriously rare and endangered parrot that is nearly endemic to Ecuador (it barely reaches northern Peru). It only occurs in very high elevation forests above around 2600 m. (D2)

Short-tailed Parrot Graydidascalus brachyurus Ilha Anavilhanas, Rio Negro, Amazonas state, Brazil. Digiscoped from a great distance, which is why it's so blurry, but this is a hard bird to photograph in the wild. (D3)

Blue-headed Parrot Pionus menstruus menstruus Yasuni NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Another shot from the clay lick next to the Napo River. There are two Mealy Parrots (Amazona farinosa) behind them. (D3)

Red-billed Parrot Pionus sordidus corallinus San Tadeo, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (D1)

Scaly-headed Parrot Pionus maximiliani melanobelpharus Hotel do Ypê, Itaitiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Feeding in a fruting tree just by the hotel. This species shows a lot of racial variation; this is an example of the Atlantic Forest subspecies. (D3)

Bronze-winged Parrot Pionus chalcopterus Mirador Rio Blanco, Los Bancos, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (D3)

Red-lored Parrot Amazona autumnalis autumnalis Las Guacamayas, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Red-lored Parrot Amazona autumnalis salvini La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. (D2)

Red-tailed Parrot Amazona brasiliensis Ilha Comprida, São Paulo state, Brazil. Another example of a bird digiscoped from a tremendous distance. While it's not sharp, you can still see all the features on this rare, very local, and seriously endangered Brazilian endemic. (D2)

Red-browed Parrot Amazona rhodocorytha Sooretama reserve, Espirito Santo state, Brazil. This one replaces the previous species farther north in the Atlantic Forest, and it is even rarer and more endangered, with a population estimated at less than 1000 (BirdLife). (D2)

Festive Parrot Amazona festiva festiva Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazonas state, Brazil. A species widely along many of the biggest rivers in South America. Despite this, it is rare in many places, such as Ecuador. (D3)

Yellow-shouldered Parrot Amazona barbadensis Araya Peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. Another endangered Amazon, this one restricted to coastal deserts of Venezuela and the island of Bonaire. (D3)		Blue-fronted Parrot Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx Caiman Lodge, Mato Grosso de Sul state, Brazil. Quite photogenic, perched on top of this small tree at dawn. Caiman is a great place to photograph parrots! (D3)

Yellow-crowned Parrot Amazona ochrocephala nattereri Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. This shot and the next were also taken at the clay lick next to the Napo River. They are surrounded by several Blue-headed Parrots (Pionus menstruus) and Mealy Parrots (Amazona farinosa). (D3)

Mealy Parrot Amazona farinosa farinosa Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. They got their name from the whitish tinge to their backs, as if they were dusted lightly with flour. (D3)

Yellow-naped Parrot Amazona auropalliata Northeast of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Red-fan Parrot Deroptyus accipitrinus fuscifrons Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Gross state, Brazil. How many times to you get to look down on these beauties? I digiscoped them from the top of the 40 m high canopy tower. It was right at dawn and still quite dark, resulting a long, noisy exposure. (D3)

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