PARROTS AND MACAWS   -   PSITTACIDAE   -   PART II

Green-rumped Parrotlet Forpus passerinus passerinus Rio Barragan, Barinas state, Venezuela. Female. Forpus are usually very tough to photograph, since they are very small and tend to stay high up in the trees. This bird was one of a flock that came down very low and perched in some thick grass. This is a female because it shows no blue in the wings. (D3)

Green-rumped Parrotlet Forpus passerinus cyanophanes Tigreras, La Guajira department, Colombia. Male. (S6)

Pacific Parrotlet Forpus coelestis Just outside the city of Piura, Piura province, Peru. Male; the female presumably is the tail sticking up from the botton. This pair was nesting in the hollow ends of these bamboo poles that were being used as the frame of a hut. (D1)

Dusky-billed Parrotlet Forpus sclateri sclateri Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. These tiny sparrow-sized parrots were coming down to a clay lick on the bank of the river near the lodge. (S6)

Spectacled Parrotlet Forpus conspicillatus conspicillatus Puerto Boyacá-Puerto Pinzón road, Santander department, Colombia. Male. This parrotlet is named for the little blue patch over the eye. It is found mainly in Colombia. Unfortunately my camera wasn't set right and it was badly overexposed. (S5)		Yellow-faced Parrotlet Forpus xanthops Marañon Canyon, Cajamarca department, Peru. The rarest of the genus, and the only one to be considered threatened. It occurs only arid parts of the Marañon Canyon in N Peru (BirdLife). This bird is feeding on cactus flowers. (D2)

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet Brotogeris chiriri chiriri Jaguar Ecological Reserve, Pantanal, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. (S5)

Plain Parakeet Brotogeris tirica Cachoeiras de Macacu-Nova Friburgo highway, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Endemic to E and S Brazil. This bird was coming in to eat bananas that were being sold by a fruit vendor on the side of the highway. Luckily, the guy didn't seem to mind sharing some of his wares. (S6)

Orange-chinned Parakeet Brotogeris jugularis exsul Minca, Magdalena department, Colombia. A common and widespread parakeet from southern Mexico to western Venezuela. I suspect this pair was inspecting the hole in the tree as a possible nest site. (S6)

Cobalt-winged Parakeet Brotogeris cyanoptera cyanoptera Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. This is not the prettiest example of this species, this pair looks like they are in mid-molt.  Wading around in a muddy clay lick didn't help either. (S3)		Golden-winged Parakeet Brotogeris chrysoptera chrysoptera Slopes of Cerro Humo, Paria Peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. The golden wing is often not visible when the bird is at rest. (S3)

Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet Touit huetii Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Touits are some of the most difficult of all birds to photograph in the wild, since they are scarce, shy, and tend to stay in the canopy. The parrot lick in Yasuní NP, about a kilometer's walk south of the river, gives an incredible chance to get up close and personal with one of them, as the birds come down to the ground to visit the clay lick. (D3)

Blue-fronted Parrotlet Touit dilectissimus RNA Arrierito Antioqueño, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. A pair allopreening next to a nest cavity that they were digging in an arboreal termite nest (see next photo). Few photos exist of this species in the wild! (D3)

Blue-fronted Parrotlet Touit dilectissimus RNA Arrierito Antioqueño, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. Hard at work digging a nesting cavity. Another name for this bird is Red-winged Parrotlet, for obvious reasons. (D3)

Black-headed Parrot Pionites melanocephalus pallidus Yasuní Research Station, Orellana province, Ecuador. Feasting on Cecropia fruit. This species is found mainly north of the Amazon, but nips south of it in central Peru. (S6)

White-bellied Parrot Pionites leucogaster xanthomeria Manu Wildlife Center, Madre de Dios dept., Peru. One of the most colorful of all Neotropical parrots, found only south of the Amazon. This "clump" was preening together on top of a dead snag, about 100 m from the top of the tower at the lodge. (D1)

Rose-faced Parrot Pyrilia pulchra Playa de Oro, Esmeradas province, Ecuador. A striking parrot endemic to the Chocó region of NW Ecuador and W Colombia. (S5)

Saffron-headed Parrot Pyrilia pyrilia El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. A rare parrot of lowland rainforests of eastern Colombia and western Venezuela. While not a great shot, there are few photos of this species in the wild. (D3)

Orange-cheeked Parrot Pyrilia barrabandi aurantiigena Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Another fabulous parrot at the Yasuní clay lick. Note that all former members of Pionopsitta except for Pileated Parrot (P. pileata) have been transferred to Gypopsitta. (D2)		Caica Parrot Pyrilia caica San Miguel de Betania, Bolívar state, Venezuela. Obviously related to the previous species, the two seem to replace each other. Orange-cheeked is found in the western Amazon basin, and Caica in the northeastern Amazon and in the Guianas. (D3)

Red-faced Parrot Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops Cerro Toledo, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. This might look like a bad photo, but it is the only shot that I have ever seen of this species in the wild. This is a seriously rare and endangered parrot that is nearly endemic to Ecuador (it barely reaches northern Peru). It only occurs in very high elevation forests above around 2600 m. (D2)

Short-tailed Parrot Graydidascalus brachyurus Ilha Anavilhanas, Rio Negro, Amazonas state, Brazil. Digiscoped from a great distance, which is why it's so blurry, but this is a hard bird to photograph in the wild. (D3)

Blue-headed Parrot Pionus menstruus menstruus Yasuni NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. Another shot from the clay lick next to the Napo River. There are two Mealy Parrots (Amazona farinosa) behind them. (D3)

Red-billed Parrot Pionus sordidus corallinus San Tadeo, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (D1)

Scaly-headed Parrot Pionus maximiliani melanobelpharus Hotel do Ypê, Itaitiaia NP, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Feeding in a fruting tree just by the hotel. This species shows a lot of racial variation; this is an example of the Atlantic Forest subspecies. (D3)

White-crowned Parrot Pionus senilis Arenal Observatory Lodge, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. A common Central American parrot in Caribbean slope rainforest. (S5)

Speckle-faced Parrot Pionus tumultuosus seniloides Forest above Jardín, Antioquia dept., Colombia. This race, found in the northern Andes from Venezuela to N Peru, is sometimes split off as White-capped Parrot. The nominate race from the rest of Peru and Bolivia has a red crown. (S3)		Speckle-faced Parrot Pionus tumultuosus seniloides Forest above Jardín, Antioquia dept., Colombia. (S3)

Bronze-winged Parrot Pionus chalcopterus Mirador Rio Blanco, Los Bancos, Pichincha province, Ecuador. (D3)

White-fronted Parrot Amazona albifrons nana La Ensenada Lodge, Guanacaste province, Costa Rica. This handsome parrot prefers dry forest, and ranges from Mexico to Costa Rica. Here it is near the southern limit of it's range. It's a conspicuous bird around the lodge. (S6)

Red-lored Parrot Amazona autumnalis autumnalis Las Guacamayas, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Red-lored Parrot Amazona autumnalis salvini La Selva OTS, Heredia province, Costa Rica. (D2)

Red-tailed Parrot Amazona brasiliensis Ilha Comprida, São Paulo state, Brazil. Another example of a bird digiscoped from a tremendous distance. While it's not sharp, you can still see all the features on this rare, very local, and seriously endangered Brazilian endemic. (D2)

Red-browed Parrot Amazona rhodocorytha Sooretama reserve, Espirito Santo state, Brazil. This one replaces the previous species farther north in the Atlantic Forest, and it is even rarer and more endangered, with a population estimated at less than 1000 (BirdLife). (D2)

Festive Parrot Amazona festiva festiva Anavilhanas Archipelago, Amazonas state, Brazil. A species widely along many of the biggest rivers in South America. Despite this, it is rare in many places, such as Ecuador. (D3)

Yellow-shouldered Parrot Amazona barbadensis Araya Peninsula, Sucre state, Venezuela. Another endangered Amazon, this one restricted to coastal deserts of Venezuela and the island of Bonaire. (D3)

Blue-fronted Parrot Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx Caiman Lodge, Mato Grosso de Sul state, Brazil. Quite photogenic, perched on top of this small tree at dawn. Caiman is a great place to photograph parrots! (D3)

Yellow-crowned Parrot Amazona ochrocephala nattereri Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. This shot and the next were also taken at the clay lick next to the Napo River. They are surrounded by several Blue-headed Parrots (Pionus menstruus) and Mealy Parrots (Amazona farinosa). (D3)

Mealy Parrot Amazona farinosa farinosa Yasuní NP, Orellana province, Ecuador. They got their name from the whitish tinge to their backs, as if they were dusted lightly with flour. (D3)

Yellow-naped Parrot Amazona auropalliata Northeast of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico. (S5)

Red-fan Parrot Deroptyus accipitrinus fuscifrons Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Gross state, Brazil. How many times to you get to look down on these beauties? I digiscoped them from the top of the 40 m high canopy tower. It was right at dawn and still quite dark, resulting a long, noisy exposure. (D3)