The tui parakeet (''Brotogeris sanctithomae'') is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and possibly

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023

Taxonomy and systematics

The tui parakeet shares genus ''Brotogeris'' with seven other species of parakeets. It has two subspecies, the nominate ''B. s. sanctithomae'' ( Müller, 1776) and ''B. s. takatsukasae'' ( Neumann, 1931). Brotogeris sanctithomae -captive-8a

Description

The tui parakeet is long and weighs an average of . Adults are mostly green that is yellower on the rump and underparts. They have yellow lores and forehead and a bluish tinge on the face. Their primaries are a darker green than the body and bluish on their underside. Their bill is brown. Subspecies ''B. s. takatsukasae'' differs from the nominate only by adding a yellow streak behind the eye. Immature birds are essentially the same as adults.Collar, N., A. Bonan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Tui Parakeet (''Brotogeris sanctithomae''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tuipar1.01 retrieved February 22, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of the tui parakeet is found in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, 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 extreme southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and Brazil east to the Rio Madeira. Undocumented sight records in eastern Ecuador lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to treat it as hypothetical in that country. Subspecies ''B. s. takatsukasae'' is found along the lower Amazon from the Rio Madeira and Rio Negro to the Atlantic at the Amazon's mouth. The species mostly inhabits semi-open landscapes like secondary forest, grasslands with some woodlands, riverbanks and islands with dense scrub, and the edges of '' várzea'' forest.

Behavior

Movement

The tui parakeet is believed to be sedentary.

Feeding

The tui parakeet feeds on fruit and blossoms from a variety of plants including palms. It also feeds in manioc and sugarcane plantations.

Breeding

The tui parakeet's breeding season is not well defined but appears to be April to July in Colombia. Nest cavities in arboreal termite nests have been documented. One nest held six nestlings. The typical range of clutch size, the incubation period, the time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The tui parakeet's calls include "a high-pitched “klee”, shrill “chree” or bisyllabic “chree-chree” nd afast chattering series “cra-cra-cra-cra-cra”." Members of a flock often call simultaneously.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the tui parakeet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. "Locally abundant with very little habitat loss, Brazil, and equally common within the limited areas occupied in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia."