Caique ( or ) refers to a group of four species of
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
s in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Pionites'' endemic to the
Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
.
Name
The term "caique" is primarily used in aviculture, with ornithologists typically referring to them as the "black-headed parrot and "white-bellied parrot" (which is sometimes further split into three separate species - green-thighed parrot, yellow-tailed parrot and black-legged parrot) to describe the nominal species. They have historically been called the “seven-colored parrot”. They are relatively small and stocky, with a short, square tail and bright colors; this may be why they are referred to as “caique” based on the term for a similarly described Turkish vessel.
Description
The two primary nominal species are best distinguished by the black-headed caique's black crown; both have white “bellies”. Their typical weight is 150–170 grams, with the white-bellied species being the larger and heavier of the two nominal species. They can live up to 40 years, but this is not common in captivity.
Distribution and habitat
The black-headed caique is found north of the
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
, and the white-bellied caique south; there is a large area of overlap between ranges. They can produce fertile hybrids, but this is not common in the wild as it is in captivity. They generally prefer forested areas and subsist on fruit and seeds. Caiques are generally canopy dwellers, spending most of their time in the tops of trees, foraging and playing.
Taxonomy and systematics
Originally ''Pionites'' were classified as two species, the black-headed parrot and white-bellied parrot. However, recent morphological work has indicated that the white-bellied parrot should be split into three species based on plumage and leg coloration.
[ In the past these parrots were often allied with the ]conure
Conures are a diverse, loosely defined group of small to medium-sized parrots. They belong to several genera within a long-tailed group of the New World parrot subfamily Arinae. The term "conure" is used primarily in bird keeping, though it has ...
s or other South American parakeets. Recent mitochondrial and nuclear DNA work has found ''Pionites'' to be the sister taxon to the ''Deroptyus'' (the genus that contains the red-fan parrot
The red-fan parrot (''Deroptyus accipitrinus''), also known as the hawk-headed parrot, is a New World parrot hailing from the Amazon Rainforest. It is the only member of the genus ''Deroptyus''.
It dwells in Brazil, Suriname, Bolivia, Ecuador, ...
); the two genera occupy a basal position in the tribe Arini.
Natural history
Behavior and ecology
These parrots are found in the edges of forests and secondary-growth forests. They usually forage on at higher levels in the canopy, although can also be found lower at forest edges. At least two members of the flock act as sentries during feeding time. Their diet consists of flowers, fruit, pulp, and seeds, although in captivity they are known to eat insects. Depending on the species and the location, they can breed from October to May at various times of the year. Caiques are high-nesting cavity birds and roost communally. They defend themselves in something like packs, together eference or personal observation note needed or discuss in talks section This may help to explain their relative self-confidence, compared to other parrots. Caiques are also known to form ad-hoc defensive committees in response to predators. The number of the flock is usually around 10 to 30 individuals. White-bellied caiques in the Tambopata National Reserve Tambopata National Reserve ( es, Reserva Nacional Tambopata) is a Peruvian nature reserve located in the southeastern region of Madre de Dios. It was established on September 4, 2000, by decree of President Alberto Fujimori. The reserve protects se ...
have been observed to be geophagous.
The species of the white-bellied parrot complex is found in humid forest and wooded habitats in the Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
south of the Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
in Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. It is generally fairly common throughout its range and is easily seen in a wide range of protected areas, such as the Manú National Park
Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...
and Tambopata-Candamo Tambopata National Reserve ( es, Reserva Nacional Tambopata) is a Peruvian nature reserve located in the southeastern region of Madre de Dios. It was established on September 4, 2000, by decree of President Alberto Fujimori. The reserve protects se ...
in Peru, Cristalino State Park (near Alta Floresta), Xingu National Park
The Xingu Indigenous Park (, pronounced ) is an indigenous territory of Brazil, first created in 1961 as a national park in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Its official purposes are to protect the environment and the several tribes of Xingu in ...
and Amazônia National Park
The Amazônia National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Amazônia) was created in 1974, as a national park comprising 1,070,737 ha. It is situated in Itaituba and Trairão municipalities, Pará state, in the north region of Brazil. It is located in t ...
in Brazil, and Madidi National Park
Madidi () is a national park in the upper Amazon Basin, Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958km². Along with the nearby protected (though not necessarily contiguous) areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and th ...
in Bolivia.
The black-headed parrot is found in forest (especially, but not exclusively, humid) and nearby wooded habitats in the Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
north of the Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
and west of the Ucayali River
The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...
in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, northern Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
, French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, and Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. It is generally fairly common and occurs in many protected areas throughout its range.
Caiques have a few unique ways of moving. They “surf” (described below), “hop” (when excited or to move quickly without flying), and “shuffle” (often in a rapid, backwards direction). They flip their wings rapidly, which exposes their red/orange patch under the wing, to potentially communicate to one another or other animals. They make different types of “purring” noises; some express wariness, others interest. They purr quietly when enjoying a drink. A startle call causes all caiques in the vicinity to take flight in random directions regardless of the initiator. A sound resembling a dead battery on a smoke detector is the typical contact call for the Black-headed Parrot.
When highly stimulated caiques pin and flash their pupils, making their emotional state obvious. They are likely to attack and bite when displaying pinning and/or flashing eyes. Caiques are highly vocal and can inflict severely damaging bites. Caiques' wing feathers produce a distinctive whirring sound in flight.
Aviculture
Caiques are growing in popularity in aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity.
Types
There are various reasons that people get involved in aviculture. Some people breed birds to preserve a species. Some people breed parrots ...
. The more commonly found species is the black-headed caique since it was introduced first in captivity, but the white-bellied caique's popularity is growing rapidly. Well-raised caiques bond well with humans and have a reputation as playful and energetic birds that enjoy playing with toys and lying on their backs. These birds sometimes perform a behavior unusual for avian species in which they roll over on their backs in apparent play-fighting with other caiques—sometimes called "wrestling". They are not particularly good flyers, becoming tired and winded after only a short distance. They also tend to be clumsy and slow in the air compared to other birds. They often prefer to walk, jump, climb, ride other animals' backs, or hop as a mode of transportation. They are excellent climbers, with very strong feet and legs.
Caiques also exhibit a unique behavior known as "surfing", where the bird will vigorously rub its face, wings and chest against any nearby soft item (e.g. carpets, towels, cushions, crumpled paper, curtains or human hair) while using its beak to pull itself along. The bird will display jerky movements and may roll over several times. This behavior is thought to be a cleaning or bathing motion and occurs regardless of age or sex. In the wild, caiques use wet leaves for this behavior.
In captivity caiques are capable of breeding at under three years of age. They typically lay a clutch of four eggs, with incubation taking between 24 and 27 days. Most pairs will struggle to raise all four chicks; often the last chick to hatch will not survive unless it is taken for hand-rearing or co-parenting. Chicks are fed by both parents and remain in the nest box for approximately 70–75 days. Parents can be very affectionate towards their offspring and after the chicks have fledged they will return to the nest box each night with their parents where the family will roost as a group.
Conservation
The nominal species of black-headed caique and white-bellied caique are listed on Appendix 2 of CITES
CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
as a species of Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
but subspecies are more endangered; in reality, data is insufficient as with many parrots.
References
External links
Popular description
- Companion Parrot Online Website
{{Authority control
Parrots of South America
Arinae
.