DID YOU KNOW?
The Short-tailed Parrot is known as one of the noisiest parrots in the Amazon basin, with its calls being detected at considerable distance.
Size:
24 cm (9.3 in)
Weight:
188-233 g (6.6-8.1 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Both adults in general green; green/yellow greater wing coverts, secondary and tertial feathers and scapulars; forewing has dark red area; green tail with dark red at base. Beak green/grey. Eye red.
Colour Juvenile:
As in adults but red at base of tail absent.
Call:
Calls are distinctive, with gurgling notes; calls in flight are harsh and raucous; also two-note series. While feeding emits a series of trilled, horn-like notes.
More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Lexicon of Parrots, Thomas Arndt.
Captive Status:
Rare
Longevity:
—
Housing:
In a secluded location: aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 2 m (6.5 ft).
Diet:
Fruits such as: apple, pear, orange, banana, pomegranate, cactus fruits, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; fresh corn; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; spray millet; small seed mix such as: canary, millet, and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat, safflower and a little hemp; soaked and sprouted sunflower seed; cooked beans or pulses, boiled maize, and complete kibble.
Enrichment:
—
Nest Box Size:
Vertical box 8″ x 8″ x 16″ (20.3 cm x 20.3 cm x 40.6 cm).
Clutch Size:
3-4
Fledging Age:
—
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
Unknown, decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Described as ‘fairly common.’Â In the upper reaches of rivers, it becomes more scarce, presumably due to restricted habitat. Not generally found in trade. This species is considered to have a medium dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 6.7% within its mapped range over the past three generations. Therefore, it is tentatively suspected that this may have led to a population decline of 1-19% over the same time frame.
Range:
SE Colombia, NE Ecuador and NE Peru east along Amazon River to coastal Amapa, N Brazil, and French Guiana.
Habitat:
Found up to 300 m (984 ft) in lowland tropical rainforest, mainly in varzea, river-edge vegetation, forest bordering lakes or other swampy or seasonally flooded areas. In coastal areas seen in secondary growth forest and mangroves.
Wild Diet:
Feeds on Cecropia catkins, Ficus fruits, cultivated fruits including guava Psidium guajava and mango Mangifera indica when available; possibly tuber-like fruits, berries, buds and flowers.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Social birds outside of breeding season. Will associate with other parrot species in the wild. Birds feed mainly in the canopy.
Clutch and Egg Size:
3-4 eggs
Breeding Season:
Possibly September.
Related Links:
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