The crimson-bellied parakeet (''Pyrrhura perlata''), known as the crimson-bellied conure in

aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity. Aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (class '' Aves'') in captivity in controlled conditions, normally within the confines of a ...

, is a species of bird in subfamily

Arinae The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South America, South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familia ...

of the family

Psittacidae The Family (biology), family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the 12 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Afrotropics, Afrotropical parrots) and 167 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or ...

, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil.

Taxonomy and systematics

The crimson-bellied parakeet's

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

history is potentially confusing. It has been assigned to several genera since its original description. Since the mid-1800s it was known as ''Pyrrhura rhodogaster'', but following a 1983 review it was discovered that the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

for ''P. perlata'', long believed to belong to the closely related

pearly parakeet The pearly parakeet (''Pyrrhura lepida''), known as the pearly conure in aviculture, is a Vulnerable species in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy and systematics Th ...

, actually was a juvenile crimson-bellied parakeet. Consequently, ''P. perlata'' was transferred to this species, while ''P. rhodogaster'' became a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

under the

principle of priority Priority is a principle in Taxonomy (biology), biological taxonomy by which a valid scientific name is established based on the oldest available name. It is a decisive rule in Botanical nomenclature, botanical and zoological nomenclature to recogn ...

.Arndt, T. (1983). Neue Erkenntnisse über den Artstatus des Blausteissittich ''Pyrrhura perlata perlata'' Spix 1824. Spixiana 9(Suppl.): 425-428.Carter, E. (2020). Crimson-bellied Parakeet (''Pyrrhura perlata''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.crbpar1.01 retrieved March 6, 2023 The crimson-bellied parakeet is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

Description

The crimson-bellied parakeet is long and weighs . The sexes are the same. Adults have a dark grayish brown head flecked with pale grayish buff, dark brownish gray ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

, a goldish green upper cheeks, and turquoise-blue lower cheeks. Their nape has a narrow blue band. Their upperparts are green with a bluish tinge. Their throat, upper breast, and the sides of their neck are gray to blue with a scaly appearance, and sometimes with pinkish tips to the feathers. The belly and upper flanks are bright red and their lower flanks and vent area are greeish blue. Their wing is mostly green, with black and cobalt blue

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and red underwing coverts. Their tail's top surface is reddish brown and the lower surface is blackish brown. Their iris is dark brown, their bill blackish, and their legs blackish gray. Immatures are similar to adults but have a mostly green belly. File:Pyrrhura perlata - Karlsruhe Zoo 01.jpg File:Pyrrhura perlata - Karlsruhe Zoo 02.jpg

Distribution and habitat

The crimson-bellied 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 ...

from the

Mamoré River The Mamoré is a large river in Brazil and Bolivia which unites with the Madre de Dios River to form the Madeira, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon. It rises on the northern slope of the Sierra de Cochabamba, east of the city of Cochaba ...

in northeastern Bolivia east into Brazil south of the Amazon River in the states of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

, Amazonas, and

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

. It mostly inhabits the canopy and edges of humid '' terra firme'' forest and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

, and also occurs in drier lowland forest. In elevation it ranges as high as .

Behavior

Movement

The crimson-bellied parakeet is non-migratory.

Feeding

The crimson-bellied parakeet feeds mainly on fruit but also includes flowers in its diet.

Breeding

The crimson-bellied parakeet breeds between August and November, and possibly from April to June. It is assumed to nest in tree cavities like other ''Pyrrhura'' parakeets. Their clutch size is four to six eggs. The incubation period is 25 days and fledging occurs seven to eight weeks after hatch.

Vocalization

The crimson-bellied parakeet's call is a "high, rapid "wrr'wur-wir-wir-wir"." It also makes "a strange, slightly toy-trumpet-like "peeéh"."

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 ...

originally assessed the crimson-bellied parakeet as being of Least Concern, then in 2012 as Vulnerable, and since 2021 again as of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. "The primary threat to this species is accelerating deforestation in the Amazon basin as land is cleared for cattle ranching and soy production". It is also affected by hunting. It does occur in about of protected lands within its range of about .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1030321 Pyrrhura Birds of Southern Amazonia Birds of the Bolivian Amazon Birds described in 1824 Parakeets Taxonomy articles created by Polbot