Parrotlets are a group of the smallest New World

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 ...

species, comprising several genera, namely '' Forpus'', ''

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 Afrotrop ...

'', and '' Touit''. They have stocky builds and short tails and are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Middle and

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 sout ...

. They resemble the

lovebird Lovebird is the common name for the genus ''Agapornis'', a small group of parrots in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native ...

s of Africa in size, body shape and behaviour and have sometimes been referred to as "South American lovebirds", but are not closely related. In the wild, parrotlets travel in flocks ranging in size from about four to over a hundred birds. Most species travel in flocks of about five to forty. They form lifelong, tight pair bonds with their chosen mates.

Behavior

If left alone for too long, a single parrotlet can lose some of its companionability. The Pacific parrotlet, in particular, does not understand that it is a tiny bird, and has little trouble challenging other animals and humans. Parrotlets in general are feisty, affectionate, and willful. Parrotlets should be housed separately due to their aggressive nature. Even bonded pairs have been known to kill or injure a mate. For this reason, most parrotlet species should not be kept in aviaries and it is best to keep them separate from other species.

Parrotlet species

The following species within three genera are considered to be parrotlets:

''Forpus''

* Mexican parrotlet (''Forpus cyanopygius'') * Green-rumped parrotlet (''Forpus passerinus'') * Cobalt-rumped parrotlet (''Forpus xanthopterygius'') * Turquoise-winged parrotlet (''Forpus spengeli'') * Riparian parrotlet (''Forpus crassirostris'') * Spectacled parrotlet (''Forpus conspicillatus'') * Dusky-billed parrotlet or Sclater's parrotlet (''Forpus modestus'') * Pacific parrotlet or celestial parrotlet (''Forpus coelestis'') * Yellow-faced parrotlet (''Forpus xanthops'')

''Touit''

The '' Touit'' parrotlets are a genus of parrotlets found in the

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 ...

- Guyana area, the northern

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, and

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

. Only three of the seven species have ever been brought into aviculture, none successfully. * Lilac-tailed parrotlet (''Touit batavicus'') * Scarlet-shouldered parrotlet (''Touit huetii'') * Red-fronted parrotlet (''Touit costaricensis'' - sometimes included in ''T. dilectissimus'') * Blue-fronted parrotlet or red-winged parrotlet (''Touit dilectissimus'') * Sapphire-rumped parrotlet (''Touit purpuratus'') *

Brown-backed parrotlet The brown-backed parrotlet (''Touit melanonotus'') also known as the black-backed parrotlet, the black-eared parrotlet, and Wied's parrotlet, is a small () green parrot found in south-eastern Brazil from Bahia to southern São Paulo. It has a dar ...

(''Touit melanonota'') * Golden-tailed parrotlet (''Touit surdus'') * Spot-winged parrotlet (''Touit stictopterus'')

''Nannopsittaca''

There are only two species in the genus ''

''. * Tepui parrotlet (''Nannopsittaca panychlora'') * Manu parrotlet or Amazonian parrotlet (''Nannopsittaca dachilleae'')

References

{{Reflist * https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/parrotlet/ (Behavior) Parrots Talking birds Bird common names