The white-eared parakeet or maroon-faced parakeet (''Pyrrhura leucotis'') is a small

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 ...

belonging to the genus ''

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, ...

''. As here defined, it is

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 elsew ...

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

in 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 ...

. The

Venezuelan 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 ...

, grey-breasted and

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 ...

s were formerly classed as

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 this bird but are increasingly treated as separate species.

Description

Pyrrhura leucotis -Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil-8a

It is 21–22 centimetres long. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

is mostly green. The chest has dark grey and whitish scaling on a green background, and the rump and belly are

maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

. The face and throat are dark maroon, the forehead is bluish and there is a whitish ear-patch. The long, graduated tail has a red underside. The bird has a sharp call which is repeated three or four times. The grey-breasted parakeet is very similar but is proportionally larger-headed, has a longer bill with a deeper mandible, lacks blue to the forecrown (as do the occasional white-eared parakeet), and its breast is entirely scaled dark grey and whitish (little or no green background). Pfrimer's parakeet essentially lacks a whitish ear-patch, and is therefore easily separated from the white-eared parakeet.

Habitat and range

It is found in eastern

where it occurs from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

state north to

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

. It inhabits the canopy of humid

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s from the lowlands up to 500 metres above sea-level. It usually forages in flocks. Its population has declined recently because of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

References

*Mata, Jorge R. Rodriguez; Erize, Francisco & Rumboll, Maurice (2006) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South America: Non-Passerines'', HarperCollins, London. *Souza, Deodato (2002) ''All the Birds of Brazil: An Identification Guide'', Dall.

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 ...

Birds of the Atlantic Forest Endemic birds of Brazil

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