The Santa Marta parakeet (''Pyrrhura viridicata'') 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 Psittaco ...

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 Neotro ...

. 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 els ...

to Colombia. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest 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 crucia ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Foraging behavior

In 2006 the species eating habits and food sources were observed for several months by researchers interested in understanding its foraging ecology. Close observation showed that the Santa Marta parakeet's diet correlated with vegetation abundance, which suggests that it exhibits ecological flexibility. Its foraging strategies, which change depending on vegetation, rely highly on group cohesion and altering between food sources.Botero-Delgadillo, Esteban, et al. "Foraging Ecology of the Santa Marta Parakeet (Pyrrhura Viridicata) in the San Lorenzo Ridge, Santa Marta Mountains." Vol. 21, no. 4, 2010, pp. 463–477., Conservation; diet; foraging behavior; ecology; Pyrrhura viridicata.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.

Zoobank Website
Santa Marta parakeet Birds of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Endemic birds of Colombia Santa Marta parakeet Santa Marta parakeet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{parrot-stub