Yellow-faced parrotlet

Yellow-faced parrotlet
Adult male at a bird show
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Superfamily: Psittacoidea
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Arinae
Genus: Forpus
Species: F. xanthops
Binomial name
Forpus xanthops
(Salvin, 1895)

The yellow-faced parrotlet (Forpus xanthops) is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to dry woodland, riparian thickets and scrub in the Marañón Valley in northern Peru.

It is threatened by habitat loss and trapping for the wild bird trade. The latter caused a rapid decline in the 1980s, but following a ban, the numbers appear to have stabilised, although at a very low number, with less than 1000 individuals remaining in the wild.[1]

Description

A pet parrotlet
Upper body

The yellow-faced parrotlet is about 14.5 cm (5.7 in) long. It has a bright yellow face and brown irises. The upper parts are olive-grey and the lower parts are greenish-yellow. The back of the head and neck are bluish and a bluish strip extends forward towards each eye. Its beak is mainly horn coloured and the upper mandible has a greyish base. The legs are pinkish-brown. The lower back and rump are dark blue in the male and light blue in the female. The juveniles are duller with less yellow on the face and their beaks are horn coloured all over.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2012). "Forpus xanthops". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. plate 95. ISBN 0-691-09251-6.
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