The yellow-faced parrotlet (''Forpus xanthops'') 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 Psittacoide ...

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 Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropi ...

Description

Yellow-faced parrotlets are about long and weigh about . Their bodies are mostly dark or olive green with gray washes on the nape and mantle and yellow-green underparts, and foreheads, crown, cheeks, and throat are bright yellow. A gray-green stripe extends backwards from each eye. Eyes are dark brown and feet and lower mandibles are light peach. The upper mandible is light peach with a gray or darker brown base. Yellow-faced parrotlets are

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

: males have bright blue lower backs, tail, secondary, and underwing coverts, and inner primary feathers. Females' blue feathers are lighter on their backs and rumps, with blue-tinged green coverts, secondaries, and primaries. Juveniles of the species look similar to adults, but are duller and have fewer yellow feathers and an entirely peach beak. Like all parrots, yellow-faced parrotlets exhibit

zygodactyly In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger". Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is use ...

, meaning two toes face forward and two toes face backward.

Distribution and habitat

Yellow-faced parrotlets are found in northwestern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in the upper Rio Marañón valley, from eastern La Libertad north to southeastern

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

and southern Amazonas. Yellow-faced parrotlets prefer

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

, low-density

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s in upper tropical and subtropical areas including scrub,

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

zones, open

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

woodland, cactus

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

desert, and open country with scattered vegetation. They are found at altitudes of , and rarely up to above sea level.

Conservation

The yellow-faced parrotlet is currently listed as a Vulnerable species by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. The number of mature individuals in the wild is estimated to be 250-999 birds as of October 2016.

Threats

The population size is currently stable, but birds are often trapped for the wild

parrot trade The international trade in parrots is a lucrative enterprise, and forms an important part of the international wildlife trade. As parrots have become increasingly endangered, many countries have placed restrictions on the trade and/or prohibited t ...

. The

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...

of this practice is estimated to be 40-100%. The construction of dams on the Rio Marañón is also a threat to yellow-faced parrotlet populations, as human activity tends to be detrimental to their habitat. Yellow-faced parrotlets are protected, and international trade is prohibited by the Wild Bird Conservation Act and other

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

Behavior and Ecology

Social

Yellow-faced parrotlets are very

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

; they roost communally in flocks of up to 70 pairs. Calls are quiet tweets and chirps.

Reproduction

Yellow-faced parrotlets typically breed between March and April; females lay

clutches A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts) ...

of 3-6 small white eggs. Yellow-faced parrotlets actually do not build nests but chew and rearrange wood shavings into shallow depressions on the ground.

Diet

Yellow-faced parrotlets mainly feed on

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

and tree fruits, seeds, flowers, and grass and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

seeds.

Aviculture

Because of their Vulnerable status, yellow-faced parrotlets are very rare in captivity. Illegal pet traders in its range capture wild birds every year, though this practice is not very lucrative and merits severe punishment. It is estimated that fewer than 50 captive yellow-faced parrotlets in the U.S., though this number is simply a guess. They are easy to breed in captivity, which aids many organizations, such as the International Parrotlet Society, in maintaining successful

breeding program A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations. There are a couple of breeding methods, such as artificial (which is man made) and ...

s in efforts to

conserve Conserve may refer to: * Conserve (condiment), a preserve made from a mixture of fruits or vegetables * Conserve (NGO), an Indian environmental organization * Conserve (publisher), a Dutch publisher * Conserved sequence, a protein or nucleic aci ...

this species.

References

Yellow-faced Parrotlet.
BirdLife International. Accessed 2008-08-02.

External links

World Parrot Trust
Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profile
Photo-High Res
tropicalbirding–"Northern and Central Peru" {{Taxonbar, from=Q930624 yellow-faced parrotlet Birds of the Peruvian Andes Endemic birds of Peru yellow-faced parrotlet yellow-faced parrotlet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot