Yellow-faced Parrotlet

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

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

It is treatened 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 (6 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. ^ BirdLife International 2008. Forpus xanthops. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 29 May 2009.
  2. ^ Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. plate 95. ISBN 0691092516. 

External links


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