Yellow-faced Parrot

Wild Yellow-faced Parrot
© Jairmoreirafotografia [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

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Did You Know?

According to research, in behaviour, appearance and chromosome type this species is not a typical Amazon; further studies indicated that it should be classified in another genus. The Yellow-faced Parrot also has two colour phases, one of which is male-linked.

Academic Research

Related publications: Alipiopsitta xanthops

Species Profile

Genus: Alipiopsitta | Species: xanthops

Size:

27cm (10.5 in)

Weight:

260g (9.1 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

one, with a green morph and yellow morph

Colour Adult:

Green morph: Both adults green in colour, the feathers widely edged darker green; yellow forehead and crown to around eyes and cheeks; yellow/orange ear coverts; deep orange sides of breast to flanks and axillary feathers; green tail with orange/red at base. Bill dull yellow with grey along ridge of upper mandible; pink/red cere. Eye ring white. Eye yellow.
Yellow morph: Male-head and neck entirely yellow; yellow/orange ear coverts; green upper breast washed with yellow, the feathers widely edged with darker green; dark yellow lower breast and upper abdomen, becoming orange/red on sides of breast to flanks, axillaries and inner lesser underwing coverts; yellow/green tail with red at base; pink/red cere and unfeathered lores. Female-yellow/green lower breast and upper abdomen, the feathers widely edged darker green.

Colour Juvenile:

Green morph: Duller than adults, with yellow confined to forehead, forecrown and area around eyes to ear coverts; rest of head green; green underparts, the feathers widely edged darker green. Eye brown.
Yellow morph: As in adult female but duller, with yellow confined to forehead, crown, and area around eyes to cheeks; rest of head green. Eye brown.

Call:

Calls made in flight are raucous; at rest softer and more musical.

Video Links:

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

Wild Yellow-faced Parrot
© Jairmoreirafotografia [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

According to research, in behaviour, appearance and chromosome type this species is not a typical Amazon; further studies indicated that it should be classified in another genus. The Yellow-faced Parrot also has two colour phases, one of which is male-linked.

Academic Research

Related publications: Alipiopsitta xanthops

Species Care

Captive Status:

Rare in captivity.

Longevity:

20+ yrs

Housing:

Aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 3m (9.8 ft).

Diet:

Fruits such as: apple, orange, banana, pear, pomegranate, cactus fruits, forming about 30 or more percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; spray millet; fresh corn; small seed mix such as: millet, canary, and smaller amounts of oats, safflower and a little hemp; limited sunflower seed; cooked beans and pulses, and boiled maize and complete kibble.

Enrichment:

Enjoys bathing, so provide overhead misters or bowls of water; also is a vigorous chewer so provide bird-safe, unsprayed flowering branches, fir, pine, elder and willow boughs, vegetable tanned leather toys, wooden block toys, and lots of browse and different sized perches.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical 10" x 10" x 24" (25.4cm x 25.4cm x 61cm).

Clutch Size:

3

Incubation Time:

26 days

Fledging Age:

8 weeks

Hatch Weight:

12g (0.4 oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Wild Yellow-faced Parrot
© Jairmoreirafotografia [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

According to research, in behaviour, appearance and chromosome type this species is not a typical Amazon; further studies indicated that it should be classified in another genus. The Yellow-faced Parrot also has two colour phases, one of which is male-linked.

Academic Research

Related publications: Alipiopsitta xanthops

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:

Near Threatened

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

A moderately rapid population decline is suspected due to habitat loss. At least two-thirds of the Cerrado region where the species is a specialist has been altered by agriculture, heavy cattle ranching, invasive grasses, pesticide use and yearly burning.

Range:

Interior of E and S Brazil, from S Piaui and S Maranhao south to Mato Grosso and W Sao Paulo; also to N and C Bolivia and N Paraguay.

Habitat:

Found up to 300m (984 ft) in deciduous and semi-arid deciduous woodlands and scrub, mostly cerrado woodlands with Mauritia palms; also drier caatinga scrub along riverways. May also be found around cultivated areas.

Wild Diet:

Feeds on seeds, unripe guava and mango. Forages on Caryocar brasiliense, Mimosa claussenii, Leucaena leucocephala, Qualea parviflora, Eriotheca pubescens and Pterodon emarginatus; also recorded eating soil (3%) and bark and feeding opportunistically on winged termites.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Seen in pairs and flocks of up to 35 individuals. Movements (seasonal or nomadic) poorly known. Peak foraging activity occurs in the morning and early afternoon.

Clutch and Egg Size:

3 elliptical eggs, 40.5 x 32.0mm (1.6 x 1.2 in).

Breeding Season:

May-October; nests in open area in cerrado trees or tall terrestrial termitaria.

Related Links:

Research: Nesting biology of the Yellow-faced Parrot, a species without nest-site fidelity: an indication of high cavity availability?

Wild Yellow-faced Parrot
© Jairmoreirafotografia [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

According to research, in behaviour, appearance and chromosome type this species is not a typical Amazon; further studies indicated that it should be classified in another genus. The Yellow-faced Parrot also has two colour phases, one of which is male-linked.

Academic Research

Related publications: Alipiopsitta xanthops

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