The neotropical parrots or
New World parrots comprise about 150
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
in 32 genera found throughout
South and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. C ...
,
Mexico, the
Caribbean islands
Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are ref ...
and (formerly) the southern
United States.
Among them are some of the most familiar and iconic parrots, including the
blue and gold macaw,
sun conure
The sun parakeet (''Aratinga solstitialis''), also known in aviculture as the sun conure, is a medium-sized, vibrantly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with black beaks, pre ...
, and
yellow-headed amazon.
The parrots of the New World have been known to Europeans since
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
remarked upon them in his journal in 1492. Systematic descriptions of the birds were first available in German naturalist
Georg Marcgraf's ''
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' ( en, Brazilian Natural History), originally written in Latin, is the first scientific work on the natural history of Brazil, written by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso and containing research done by the German ...
'' published in 1648, and English naturalist
Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist who studied the flora and fauna of the New World. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'', the fi ...
's two-volume ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'' published in
London in 1731 and 1743.
Several species and one
genus have become
extinct in recent centuries. A second genus is
extinct in the wild
A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due t ...
. Over a third of the
extant
Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extin ...
species are classified as
threatened by the
IUCN. A few of these are in imminent danger of extinction with fewer than 500 individuals in the wild or in captivity:
glaucous macaw,
Spix's macaw,
blue-throated macaw
The blue-throated macaw (''Ara glaucogularis''), also known as the Caninde macaw or Wagler's macaw, is a macaw endemic to a small area of north-central Bolivia, known as Los Llanos de Moxos. In 2014 this species was designated by law as a natur ...
,
Puerto Rican parrot
The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...
, and
indigo-winged parrot
Fuertes's parrot (''Hapalopsittaca fuertesi''), also known as the indigo-winged parrot, is a parrot which has a highly restricted range on the west slope of the Central Andes of Colombia. It is classified by the IUCN as being critically endange ...
. The chief reasons for decline in parrot populations are
habitat loss through
deforestation by clear-cutting, burning, and flooding by construction of dams, capture for the pet trade, and introduction of non-native predators.
The New World parrots are
monophyletic, and have been geographically isolated for at least 30–55 million years by molecular dating methods. Though fairly few
fossils of modern parrots are known, most of these are from tribe Arini of
macaws and parakeets; the oldest are from 16 million years ago. They attest that modern genera were mostly distinct by the
Pleistocene, a few million years ago.
Neotropical parrots comprise at least two monophyletic clades, one of primarily long-tailed species such as the macaws, conures, and allies, and the other of primarily short-tailed parrots such as amazons and allies.
A new species, the
bald parrot or orange-headed parrot, was discovered as recently as 2002.
Taxonomy
Neotropical parrots belong to the
subfamily Arinae which along with the African or Old World parrots comprise the family
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 Neotrop ...
, one of three families of true parrots.
The
taxonomy of the neotropical parrots is not yet fully resolved, but the following subdivision is supported by solid studies.
*Tribe
Arini
** ''
Cyanoliseus'' – burrowing parrot
** ''
Enicognathus'' (two species)
** ''
Rhynchopsitta
The thick-billed parrots are stocky brilliant green Neotropical parrots with heavy black beaks of genus ''Rhynchopsitta'' of thick billed macaw-like parrots. The genus comprises two extant species, the thick-billed parrot and the maroon-fronte ...
'' – thick-billed parrots (two species)
** ''
Pyrrhura
''Pyrrhura'' (Greek
Red/Fire Tail) is a genus of parrots in the Arini tribe. They occur in tropical and subtropical South America and southern Central America (Panama and Costa Rica). Most are restricted to humid forest and adjacent habitats ...
'' (around two dozen species, one possibly recently extinct)
** ''
Anodorhynchus
''Anodorhynchus'' is a genus of large blue macaws from open and semi-open habitats in central and eastern South America. It includes two extant species, the hyacinth macaw and Lear's macaw also known as the indigo macaw, and one probably extinc ...
'' – blue macaws (two living species, one probably recently
extinct)
** ''
Leptosittaca'' – golden-plumed parakeet
** ''
Ognorhynchus'' – yellow-eared parrot
** ''
Diopsittaca'' – red-shouldered macaw
** ''
Guaruba'' – golden parakeet
** ''
Conuropsis'' – Carolina parakeet (
extinct)
** ''
Cyanopsitta'' – Spix's macaw (
extinct in the wild
A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due t ...
)
** ''
Orthopsittaca
The red-bellied macaw (''Orthopsittaca manilatus''), also known as ''Guacamaya Manilata'', is a medium-sized, mostly green South American parrot, a member of a group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It is the largest of what are com ...
'' – red-bellied macaw
** ''
Ara'' – true macaws (eight living species, and at least one recently extinct)
** ''
Primolius
''Primolius'' is a genus of macaws comprising three species, which are native to South America. They are mainly green parrots with complex colouring including blues, reds and yellows. They have long tails, a large curved beak, and bare facial ski ...
'' – some of the mini-macaws (three species, previously called ''Propyrrhura'')
** ''
Aratinga
''Aratinga'' is a genus of South American conures. Most are predominantly green, although a few are predominantly yellow or orange. They are social and commonly seen in groups in the wild. In Brazil, the popular name of several species usually ...
'' - sun conure and allies (six living species, at least one recently extinct)
** ''
Eupsittula
''Eupsittula'' is a genus of South and Middle American parakeets in the tribe Arini. Until 2013, all the species were believed to belong to the genus ''Aratinga''. Some of the ''Eupsittula'' species are kept in aviculture or as companion parr ...
'' – South and Middle American parakeets
** ''
Psittacara
''Psittacara'' is a genus of parakeets in the tribe Arini. Species of the genus are found in Central and South America, the Caribbean and one species reaching the southern United States. Until 2013, all the species were placed in the genus ''Ar ...
'' – genus of parakeets in Central and South America, and the Caribbean
** ''
Thectocercus'' – Blue-crowned parakeet
*Tribe
Androglossini
Androglossini is a tribe of birds belonging to the family Psittacidae,Leo Joseph, Alicia Toon, Erin E. Schirtzinger, Timothy F. Wright, Richard Schodde. 2012. A revised nomenclature and classification for family-group taxa of parrots (Psittacifor ...
** ''
Pionopsitta'' – pileated parrot
** ''
Triclaria'' – blue-bellied parrot
** ''
Pyrilia'' (7 species; all previously included in ''Pionopsitta'').
** ''
Pionus'' (8 species)
** ''
Graydidascalus'' – short-tailed parrot
** ''
Alipiopsitta'' – yellow-faced parrot (previously in ''Amazona, Salvatoria'')
** ''
Amazona
Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots ...
'' – amazon parrots (about 30 living species – one subspecies recently extinct)
Schodde, et al.
recognize a division of the remaining genera into several distinct clades, indicating possible previously undefined tribes:
*clade – proposed tribe ''Forpini''
** ''
Forpus
''Forpus'' is a genus of neotropical parrots in the family Psittacidae. It is the only genus in the Forpini tribe of the subfamily Arinae.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Forpus'' was introduced in 1858 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The type spec ...
'' (nine species)
*clade – proposed tribe ''Amoropsittacini''
** ''
Nannopsittaca
''Nannopsittaca'' is a genus of parrot in the family 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 Afrotro ...
'' (two species)
** ''
Psilopsiagon'' (two species, formerly in ''Bolborhynchus'')
** ''
Bolborhynchus'' (two species)
** ''
Touit
''Touit'' is a genus of Neotropical parrots in the family Psittacidae.
The genus was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855 with the scarlet-shouldered parrotlet (''Touit huetii'') as the type species. The genus name i ...
'' (eight species)
*clade including ''Arini''
** ''
Pionites'' – caiques (four species)
** ''
Deroptyus'' – red-fan parrot
*clade including ''Androglossini''
** ''
Hapalopsittaca'' (four species)
** ''
Brotogeris
''Brotogeris'' is a genus of small parrots endemic to Central and South America. Their closest relatives are the monk parakeet and the and the cliff parakeet in the genus '' Myiopsitta''. They eat seeds and fruit. The word ''brotogeris'' means ...
'' (eight species)
** ''
Myiopsitta'' (one or two species)
See also
*
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 ...
*
List of parrots
*
List of macaws
The list of macaws includes 19 species of macaws including extinct and critically endangered species, and does not include several hypothetical extinct species that have been proposed based on very little evidence.
Species in taxonomic order
''A ...
*
List of amazon parrots
The amazon parrots are 35 species of parrots that comprise the genus ''Amazona''. They are native to the New World, ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Amazon parrots range in size from medium to large, and have relatively sh ...
*
List of ''Aratinga'' parakeets
References
*
Split Gypopsitta from PionopsittaSouth American Classification Committee.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q278968
Parrots
.
Birds of Central America
Birds of the Caribbean
Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics