White-bellied Parrot Pionites leucogaster Scientific name definitions

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

The White-bellied Parrot is an attractive medium-sized parrot of the southern Amazon. It has three subspecies which are all easily separated from other parrots by their shockingly pale lemon-orange head, pale green back and white underparts. It is sister to the Black-crowned Parrot which is distributed north of the Amazon. These two species had long be exemplary northbank-southbank Amazonian replacement species but recent surveys in western Amazonia have shown them to cross their putative river boundaries and occur on the same-side of the river where hybridization may occur. Its primary habitat is humid lowland forest, particularly seasonally flooded forest, where it presumably feeds on fruits and seeds.

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

23 cm. Like <em>P. leucogaster</em> , with which this species was formerly considered to be conspecific, a medium-sized, chunky , short-tailed parrot , with apricot-orange cap  , yellow throat and neck-sides, white breast and green upperparts . Differs from <em>P. xanthurus</em> in having blackish legs and feet (in which respect it also differs from P. leucogaster) and an all-green uppertail  (shared with P. leucogaster), and compared to <em>P. leucogaster</em> has yellow (rather than green) thigh-feathers (a feature shared with <em><em>P. xanthurus</em></em> ). Reported to intergrade with P. xanthurus along R Juruá, in W Amazonian Brazil, and presumably also P. leucogaster in S Amazonian Brazil.

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

23 cm. Like P. leucogaster  , with which this species was formerly considered to be conspecific, a medium-sized, chunky, short-tailed parrot, with apricot-orange cap  , yellow throat and neck-sides, white breast and green upperparts  . Differs from <em>P. xanthomerius</em> in having pinkish legs and feet (which feature it shares with P. leucogaster) and an all-yellow uppertail, and compared to P. leucogaster has yellow (rather than green ) thigh-feathers (a feature shared with <em><em>P. xanthomerius</em></em> ) and tail  colour (green in P. leucogaster). Reported to intergrade with P. xanthomerius along R Juruá, in W Amazonian Brazil, and also P. leucogaster in the region of the upper R Xingu, in SE Amazonian Brazil.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

23 cm; mean 155 g. Mid-sized, chunky and short-tailed parrot, with front-heavy appearance in flight. Forehead to nape orange  ; face , sides of neck  and upper breast yellow; back and wings dull green with dark blue primaries and reddish-orange axillaries; lower breast  and belly white; flanks, thighs , rump and tail bright green; vent yellow. Bill  pale horn, cere bright pinkish, iris reddish brown, and legs and feet also bright pink. Sexes similar. Immature has crown and nape brownish. Allopatric (and recently separated) species P. xanthurus  replaces bright green (including tail  ) with yellow  (some intermediates), while <em>P. xanthomerius</em> also differs from the present species in being broadly similar to P. xanthurus but with a green tail .

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White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

E Peru (E of R Ucayali) and Bolivia (at least formerly S to Santa Cruz) to W Brazil S of Amazon (E to R Juruá); recently also recorded in extreme SE Colombia (N of Amazon) (1 Luna, J.C. and Cuao-Carranza, E.A. (2011). First records of White-bellied Parrot Pionites leucogaster for Colombia. Conservación Colombiana. 15: 34. Close ).

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

Brazil S of Amazon from R Purús and R Juruá to R Madeira catchment in Amazonas.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

N Brazil S of Amazon from R Madeira to NW Maranhão.

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

Humid tropical terra firme forest, more particularly seasonally flooded várzea forest along watercourses , and possibly prefers margins and openings to continuous forest. Confined to lowlands.

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

Humid tropical terra firme forest, and seasonally flooded várzea forest along watercourses, and possibly prefers margins and openings to continuous forest. Confined to lowlands.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

Lowland humid tropical terra firme forest, more particularly seasonally flooded várzea forest along watercourses, and possibly prefers margins and openings to continuous forest; penetrates drier forests in S of range, but not so common. Confined to lowlands.

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

No information, though basic details are unlikely to differ significantly from P. leucogaster: diet  also includes fruits of the palm Euterpe oleracea  .

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

No information, though basic details are unlikely to differ significantly from P. leucogaster.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

Virtually no information. Recorded feeding on fruits of the palm Euterpe oleracea and various other smaller fruits, petals and flowers. Generally gregarious and observed in company of Pionus menstruus (2 Juniper, T., and M. Parr (1998). Parrots: A Guide to the Parrots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ).

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

No known differences between this species and P. leucogaster.

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

No known differences between this species  and P. leucogaster.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

Flight call is a high-pitched, harsh, squealing “sqheee .. sqheee”. When perched, utters a wide variety of calls, typically with long pauses between notes, from a perch within the canopy. Calls range from loud high-pitched “kree-ee-ee” or “skeeew” notes to more melodious whistles (likened to Tapirus tapir) (2 Juniper, T., and M. Parr (1998). Parrots: A Guide to the Parrots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ) and subdued “kee-ah-u” or “kew” calls, which can even recall the twittering of a Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) (2 Juniper, T., and M. Parr (1998). Parrots: A Guide to the Parrots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). When taking off, wings make a clearly audible noise.

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

Few data, though basic details of breeding biology are unlikely to differ significantly from P. leucogaster. In SE Peru, season reported to be c. Aug to Feb, and two of three nests were sited in cavities of Dipteryx micrantha trees, while two featherless chicks found below a nest-hole in in Oct indicates eggs were laid in Aug, fledging would have occurred in Nov or early Dec (3 Brightsmith, D.J. (2005). Parrot nesting in southeastern Peru: seasonal patterns and keystone trees. Wilson Bull.. 117(3): 296–305. Close ). An egg (attributed to this taxon) laid in captivity measured 31 mm × 23·6 mm (4 Harrison, C. J. O., and D. T. Holyoak (1970). Apparently undescribed parrot eggs in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 90(2):42–46. Close ).

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

Nov  –Jan in E of range, where one nest found was in hollow in tree 30 m up, containing two yellowish-white eggs, though normal clutch size suspected to be 2–4 (2 Juniper, T., and M. Parr (1998). Parrots: A Guide to the Parrots of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). An egg (attributed to this taxon) laid in captivity measured 23·7 mm × 20 mm (4 Harrison, C. J. O., and D. T. Holyoak (1970). Apparently undescribed parrot eggs in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 90(2):42–46. Close ).

White-bellied Parrot (Black-legged)

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Common in most of range and in parts of E Peru abundant, but suffering from habitat destruction in the E & SW, and possibly extinct in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as a consequence. Range recently (Mar 2008) extended to extreme SE Colombia, N of the Amazon, where recorded at three localities within a comparatively small area (1 Luna, J.C. and Cuao-Carranza, E.A. (2011). First records of White-bellied Parrot Pionites leucogaster for Colombia. Conservación Colombiana. 15: 34. Close ). No records from E Ecuador (5 Ridgely, R. S., and P. J. Greenfield (2001). The Birds of Ecuador. Volumes 1–2. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ). Present in Manu National Park , SE Peru, where density reaches 6 pairs/km². From 1980 to 1983–2475 birds were exported from Bolivia, but all trade reportedly ceased in 1984 (although small numbers were recorded in local trade in 2004/05) (6 Herrera, M., and A. B. Hennessey (2007). Quantifying the illegal parrot trade in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, with emphasis on threatened species. Bird Conservation International 17(4): 295–300. Close ).

White-bellied Parrot (Yellow-tailed)

VULNERABLE. CITES II. No population estimate. Suspected to lose 17·8–22·2% of suitable habitat within its distribution over three generations (24 years) from 2002, based on a model of Amazonian deforestation. Given the species susceptibility to hunting and trapping, and that it is intolerant of habitat degradation and small fragments, P. xanthurus is suspected to decline by 30–49% over this time period. Primary threat is accelerating rates of deforestation in the Amazon Basin: changes to the Brazilian Forest Code have reduced the percentage of land a private landowner is legally required to maintain as forest (including, critically, a reduction in the width of forest buffers alongside perennial steams) and included an amnesty for landowners who deforested before Jul 2008 (who would subsequently be absolved of the need to reforest illegally cleared land). Despite being common in undisturbed landscapes, the species is not thought to be tolerant of secondary forest or agropastoral land and appears restricted to alluvial habitats. It may also be susceptible to hunting.

White-bellied Parrot (Green-thighed)

ENDANGERED. CITES II. Population size has not been quantified, but the species is suspected to lose 30·2–40·5% of suitable habitat within its distribution over three generations from 2002, based on a model of Amazonian deforestation. Given its susceptibility to hunting and trapping, and the fact that it is intolerant of habitat degradation and small fragments, the population is suspected to decline by 50–79% over this time period. Primary threat is accelerating rates of deforestation in the Amazon Basin: changes to the Brazilian Forest Code have reduced the percentage of land a private landowner is legally required to maintain as forest (including, critically, a reduction in the width of forest buffers alongside perennial steams) and included an amnesty for landowners who deforested pre-Jul 2008 (who would subsequently be absolved of the need to reforest illegally cleared land). Despite being common in undisturbed landscapes, the species is not thought to be tolerant of secondary forest or agropastoral land, and is apparently restricted to alluvial habitats. It might also be susceptible to hunting.