Family Parrots (Psittacidae)
Least Concern
Dusky-billed Parrotlet (Forpus modestus)
Taxonomy
French: Toui de Sclater German: Schwarzschnabel-Sperlingspapagei Spanish: Cotorrita de Sclater
Taxonomy:
Psittacula modesta
Cabanis
, 1849,Guyana
.
Subspecies and Distribution
F. m. modestus
(Cabanis, 1849) – E Colombia (Guainía) and S & E Venezuela through the Guianas (rare) to N Brazil.
F. m. sclateri
(G. R. Gray, 1859) – SE Colombia and NE Ecuador S (including W Brazil) to E Peru and N Bolivia and E to N Brazil S of Amazon Delta.
Descriptive notes
13 cm; 28 g. Darker green than congeners, forehead, cheeks and chin emerald, underparts more glaucous; lower back, rump and large panel on wing dark blue; upper mandible dark... read more
Voice
Call is a high-pitched, somewhat buzzy “zeet”, given both in flight and perched. Also more scratchy... read more
Habitat
Clearings, edge and other secondary habitats within tropical lowland rain forest and, perhaps most... read more
Food and feeding
Virtually no information. Recorded feeding on fruits in trees, including those of Cecropia, and also foraging on the ground. read more
Breeding
Possibly Jul in Peru. Nest probably in hole in dead tree, etc. No other information.
Movements
Nothing is known.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. CITES II. Fairly common in W Amazonia, becoming scarcer in E where once common; but increasing in numbers in Colombia. Little if at all traded.
Recent study indicated that this species is basal to all other members of genus#R. Precise boundaries between the two races remain unclear. Previously listed as F. sclateri, as older name modestus was mistakenly believed to be inapplicable (as a secondary homonym), but recently shown to be valid#R; subspecies name eidos, used earlier, now becomes a junior synonym of modestus. Two subspecies recognized.