Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet

Overview

The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet (Touit huetii), also known as the red-winged parrotlet or Huet's parrotlet, is a species of bird in the family Psittacidae. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Body length of 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) and weight of 58 to 62 g (2.0 to 2.2 oz).
• Mostly green body, darker above than below, with an olive-brown crown and nape, and a dark front of the face featuring a white eye ring.
• Upper wing coverts are dark blue, primaries are black, and the carpal bar, underwing coverts, and axillaries are red.
• Males have tails with green central feathers and red outer ones with black tips, while females have all greenish-yellow tails with black tips; immatures resemble adult females but have a green face.
• Vocalisations include a high 'tjoot-tjoot-tjoot-' mixed with 'tjer tjer-', a soft 'churr' when perched, and continuous, monotonous, noisy chattering in large flocks in flight.

Habitat

The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet inhabits lowland terra firme and várzea forests, mostly occurring below 900 m (3,000 ft) but occasionally recorded as high as 1,300 m (4,300 ft). It has a disjunct distribution across northeastern Venezuela and adjacent Guyana, southern Venezuela through southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru into northern Bolivia, and the eastern Amazon Basin of Brazil, possibly bridging gaps between these sections. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Trinidad and is considered hypothetical in Suriname.

Did you know?

The species is non-migratory but most probably nomadic in Amazonia, as it is seldom 'found in one area for more than a few weeks at a time'.