turquoise-winged parrotlet

Turquoise-winged parrotlets are typically {{Convert|12|cm|in|abbr=}} long and weigh about {{Convert|28|g|oz|abbr=}}. Their bodies are mostly yellow-green; eyes are dark brown and legs and beak are light peach. Turquoise-winged parrotlets are sexually dimorphic: males have bright turquoise feathers on their lower backs and rumps, and have purple-blue underwing coverts and axillaries. Females have no blue markings, but their foreheads and faces are brighter yellow-green than males'.{{Cite web|url=https://www.parrots.org/encyclopedia/turquoise-winged-parrotlet|title=Turquoise-winged Parrotlet (Forpus spengeli) {{!}} Parrot Encyclopedia|website=www.parrots.org|access-date=2019-03-17}} Like all parrots, turquoise-winged parrotlets exhibit zygodactyly: two toes face forward and two toes face backward.

Turquoise-winged parrotlets are found in northern Colombia from the Caribbean coastal region southwest of the Santa Marta Mountains, Atlantico, and south along the Rio Magdalena in Bolívar and Cesar.

Turquoise-winged parrotlets are most often found in drier, open or riparian woodlands, cerrado, caatinga, savanna, palm groves, semi-arid scrubland, and pastures.

There is not an estimate for the number of turquoise-winged parrotlets, but it is believed that their population is decreasing because of increased human interference and habitat destruction. Turquoise-winged parrotlets are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.

Turquoise-winged parrotlets are highly gregarious and are often found in flocks of up to 50 birds.

The turquoise-winged parrotlet's breeding season is May to August. Females lay 3-7 small white eggs.

Turquoise-winged parrotlets mostly feed on Cecropia sp. fruits,{{Cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=W.M.|last2=Darlington Jr.|first2=P.J.|date=June 1930|title=Ant-Tree Notes from Rio Frio, Colombia|url=http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/images/2/28/WheelerW1930g.pdf|journal=Psyche: A Journal of Entomology|volume=37|issue=2|pages=116|doi=10.1155/1930/57858 |doi-access=free |via=Antwiki}} Mikania sp. and Trema micrantha seeds, and Ambrosia sp. and Marcgravia sp. flowers. They are also known to occasionally feed on other plants such as grass.

Until recently, the turquoise-winged parrotlet was considered a subspecies of the cobalt-rumped parrotlet as Forpus xanthopterygius spengeli. However, in 2015 Bocalini and Silveira studied morphological differences between subspecies of cobalt-rumped parrotlets and determined that the turquoise-winged parrotlet was its own species, F. spengeli.{{Cite journal|last1=Bocalini|first1=F.|last2=Silveira|first2=L.F.|date=May 2015|title=Morphological variability and taxonomy of the Bluewinged Parrotlet Forpus xanthopterygius (Psittacidae)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277304595|journal=Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia|volume=23|pages=64–75|doi=10.1007/BF03544290|via=ResearchGate|doi-access=free}} This split was supported by Donegan et al. in 2016.{{Cite journal|last1=Donegan|first1=T.|last2=Verhelst|first2=J.C.|last3=Ellery|first3=T.|last4=Cortés-Herrera|first4=O.|last5=Salaman|first5=P.|date=October 2016|title=Revision of the status of bird species occurring or reported in Colombia 2016 and assessment of BirdLife International's new parrot taxonomy|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309618184|journal=Conservación Colombiana|volume=24|pages=17–21}} There is continuing debate over the validity of this change. Some taxonomic authorities (including the American Ornithological Society) do not recognize this change in classification.{{Cite web|url=http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline05.htm|title=A classification of the bird species of South America|website=www.museum.lsu.edu|access-date=2019-03-17}}

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turquoise-winged parrotlet

Category:Birds of Brazil

turquoise-winged parrotlet

turquoise-winged parrotlet