Parrotlets are a group of the smallest New World

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 Psittaco ...

species, comprising several genera, namely '' Forpus'', '' Nannopsittaca'', and ''

Touit ''Touit'' is a genus of Neotropical parrots in the family Psittacidae. The genus was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855 with the scarlet-shouldered parrotlet (''Touit huetii'') as the type species. The genus na ...

''. They have stocky builds and short tails and are

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 els ...

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. They resemble the lovebirds of Africa in size, body shape and behaviour and have sometimes been referred to as "South American lovebirds", but are not closely related. In the wild, parrotlets travel in flocks ranging in size from about four to over a hundred birds. Most species travel in flocks of about five to forty. They form lifelong, tight pair bonds with their chosen mates.

Behavior

If left alone for too long, a single parrotlet can lose some of its companionability. The Pacific parrotlet, in particular, does not understand that it is a tiny bird, and has little trouble challenging other animals and humans. Parrotlets in general are feisty, affectionate, and willful. Parrotlets should be housed separately due to their aggressive nature. Even bonded pairs have been known to kill or injure a mate. For this reason, most parrotlet species should not be kept in aviaries and it is best to keep them separate from other species.

Parrotlet species

The following species within three genera are considered to be parrotlets:

''Forpus''

Mexican parrotlet The Mexican parrotlet (''Forpus cyanopygius''), also known as the turquoise-rumped parrotlet or the Mexican blue-rumped parrotlet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. There are two subspecies: Grayson's parrotlet or the Tres Mari ...

(''Forpus cyanopygius'') * Green-rumped parrotlet (''Forpus passerinus'') * Cobalt-rumped parrotlet (''Forpus xanthopterygius'') * Turquoise-winged parrotlet (''Forpus spengeli'') * Riparian parrotlet (''Forpus crassirostris'') * Spectacled parrotlet (''Forpus conspicillatus'') * Dusky-billed parrotlet or Sclater's parrotlet (''Forpus modestus'') * Pacific parrotlet or celestial parrotlet (''Forpus coelestis'') * Yellow-faced parrotlet (''Forpus xanthops'')

''Touit''

The ''

'' parrotlets are a genus of parrotlets found in the

Venezuela 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 ...

- Guyana area, the northern

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, and

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

. Only three of the seven species have ever been brought into aviculture, none successfully. *

Lilac-tailed parrotlet The lilac-tailed parrotlet (''Touit batavicus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mois ...

(''Touit batavicus'') *

Scarlet-shouldered parrotlet The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet (''Touit huetii''), also known as the red-winged parrotlet or Huet's parrotlet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. Description It is in length and weighs . It has white eyerings and dark lores. ...

(''Touit huetii'') *

Red-fronted parrotlet The red-fronted parrotlet (''Touit costaricensis'') is a parrot in Central America in Costa Rica and Panama. It is 15 cm, green with a short tail, red forehead, lores, and under eye, red shoulders and leading edge of underwing, and the rema ...

(''Touit costaricensis'' - sometimes included in ''T. dilectissimus'') *

Blue-fronted parrotlet The blue-fronted parrotlet (''Touit dilectissimus'') is also known as the red-winged parrotlet (but see below). It is a parrot in N. South America from E. Panama down the west coastal Andes to Peru, with a second population around and south of La ...

or red-winged parrotlet (''Touit dilectissimus'') *

Sapphire-rumped parrotlet The sapphire-rumped parrotlet (''Touit purpuratus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropica ...

(''Touit purpuratus'') * Brown-backed parrotlet (''Touit melanonota'') *

Golden-tailed parrotlet The golden-tailed parrotlet (''Touit surdus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane for ...

(''Touit surdus'') *

Spot-winged parrotlet The spot-winged parrotlet (''Touit stictopterus'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist monta ...

(''Touit stictopterus'')

''Nannopsittaca''

There are only two species in the genus '' Nannopsittaca''. *

Tepui parrotlet The tepui parrotlet (''Nannopsittaca panychlora'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in the tepuis of northern Brazil, western Guyana, and southern Venezuela. Description It is light green with brown eyes. Its tail i ...

(''Nannopsittaca panychlora'') *

Manu parrotlet The Manu parrotlet (''Nannopsittaca dachilleae'') or Amazonian parrotlet is a species of parrotlet native to the western Amazon basin, from southern Peru to northwest Bolivia. It is found in lowland forests near bamboo and rivers. It is class ...

or Amazonian parrotlet (''Nannopsittaca dachilleae'')

References

{{Reflist * https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/parrotlet/ (Behavior) Parrots Talking birds Bird common names