The grey-breasted parakeet (''Pyrrhura griseipectus'') is a 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 Psittacoid ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Psittacidae The family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the roughly 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Old World or Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropic ...

. It is endemic to

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

in north-eastern

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 restricted to a few mountains with relatively humid forest and woodland in a region otherwise dominated by arid

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

. They now only live in two locations, Serra do Baturité and

Quixadá Quixadá is a municipality in the state of Ceará, in Brazil. It is known for its unusual rock formations, known locally as monoliths. Location Quixadá is located at around . It was founded in 1870 and had a population of 80,605 residents in 2 ...

. Until recently, it was considered a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

white-eared parakeet The white-eared parakeet or maroon-faced parakeet (''Pyrrhura leucotis'') is a small parrot belonging to the genus ''Pyrrhura''. As here defined, it is endemic to Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil. The Venezuelan, grey-breasted and Pfrimer's par ...

, as ''Pyrrhura leucotis griseipectus''. The split was based on their widely

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

s, differences in measurement of bill, and subtle differences in colour of crown, ear-coverts and chest. A recent study based on

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

has failed to confirm the status of the grey-breasted parakeet as a species distinct from the

, while confirming the species status of

Pfrimer's parakeet Pfrimer's parakeet (''Pyrrhura pfrimeri'') is a non-migratory species within the parrot family ''Psittacidae''. It also is known as Pfrimer's conure, Goias parakeet, and maroon-faced conure. The Pfrimer's parakeet has been qualified as endangered ...

. After a decade of conservation efforts that included providing

nest box A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

es, the population has seen a significant increase in size from less than 250 to upwards of 1,000 individuals. In 2017, the species was down-listed on the IUCN Red List from Critically Endangered to Endangered.Hennessey, Bennett.
In Brazil, The 'Nest-Best' Hope For Protecting Gray-Breasted Parakeets
. 27 Dec 2018. Blog post. American Bird Conservancy. Accessed 03 Jan 2019.

References

External links

* South American Classification Committee

* Ribas, C. C., L. Joseph, C. Y. Miyaki (2006). ''Molecular systematics and patterns of diversification in ''Pyrrhura'' (Psittacidae), with special reference to the ''picta-leucotis'' complex.'' The Auk 123(3): 660–680.

grey-breasted parakeet The grey-breasted parakeet (''Pyrrhura griseipectus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to Ceará in north-eastern Brazil and restricted to a few mountains with relatively humid forest and woodland in a region other ...

Birds of the Caatinga Endemic birds of Brazil Parrots of South America

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