Sulphur-breasted Parakeet Aratinga maculata Scientific name definitions

Long considered to be conspecific with the beautiful Sun Parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) of northernmost Brazil and southern Guyana, until recently not even subspecific status was conferred on this stunning bird. Like Aratinga solstitialis, this newly recognized species is a golden-orange bird with an orange-red face and belly, whilst the wings and tail represent a mix of yellow, mainly green, and some blue tones. When ornithologists finally realized that this species represents a taxon separate from the Sun Parakeet, it was named Aratinga pintoi, in honor of the great Brazilian ornithologist Olivério Mário de Oliveira Pinto (1896–1981) who the first author to point out the differences between the two species, but subsequent research revealed that this name is a very junior synonym of the name Psittacus maculatus, which dates from as long ago as 1776! Sulphur-breasted Parakeet is best known from Brazil, in the savannas on the north bank of the Amazon, in northern Pará, and in westernmost Amapá, where it was only very recently discovered. Birds in southern Suriname, in the Sipaliwini Savanna, also belong to this population, and there are additional reports of Sulphur-breasted Parakeet from southwestern French Guiana, although there is speculation that these latter pertain to escapees from captivity. Knowledge of this species’ biology and natural history is still very weak, in part because its distributional range is relatively remote and not frequently visited by birdwatchers and ornithologists.