The golden-tailed parrotlet (''Touit surdus'') is a

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened 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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to eastern

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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The golden-tailed parrotlet 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 ...

. However, the northern population might merit separation as a subspecies.Collar, N., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Golden-tailed Parrotlet (''Touit surdus''), 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.gotpar2.01 retrieved February 19, 2023

Description

The golden-tailed parrotlet is about long. Its body is mostly green, darker above than below, and rather emerald green on the rump and uppertail

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 ...

. Its forehead, lores, and cheeks are yellow; it has a white eye ring. Its

scapulars The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side ...

are olive-brown. Its flight feathers are dusky brown with green edges, its primary coverts dark brown, the other wing coverts green, and the carpal area blue. Males' central tail feathers are green and the others greenish yellow; all have narrow black tips. Females are very similar to males but have somewhat duller underparts and greener tail feathers.

Distribution and habitat

The golden-tailed parrotlet has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

in northeastern and eastern Brazil. It is found in

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, intermittently from

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

, and again intermittently between

Bahia Bahia () 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 (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

state. It inhabits humid evergreen forest and forest on sandy soils both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary. It also frequents cacao plantations, and inland is found in the lower levels of

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

. In elevation it is found from sea level to .

Behavior

Movement

Some season movements of the golden-tailed parrotlet have been noted, but they are not well defined.

Feeding

The golden-tailed parrotlet usually forages in small flocks that are suspected to be family groups. Its diet is mostly fruit but details are lacking.

Breeding

The golden-tailed parrotlet is thought to start breeding behavior in September or October, the start of the rainy season. The only known nests were in arboreal termite nests. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The golden-tailed parrotlet's call is a "falsetto 'kree-kree-kree-kruh- -' or shrieking 'k'reeéh'."

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 golden-tailed parrotlet as Threatened, then in 1994 Endangered, and since 2004 as Vulnerable. It has a very limited range and its estimated population of fewer than 10,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. "Extensive deforestation throughout its range is regarded as the principal cause of its rarity". However, it "has been found to be more resilient to forest fragmentation than first thought, and it may be under-recorded rather than genuinely scarce, especially in the southern part of its range." It does occur in many private and government reserves.

References

External links

World Parrot Trust
Parrot Encyclopedia - Species Profiles {{Taxonbar, from=Q1264307 golden-tailed parrotlet Birds of the Atlantic Forest Endemic birds of Brazil golden-tailed parrotlet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot