Fuertes’s Parrots (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi) is also known as Indigo-winged Parakeets or Chapman’s Rusty-faced Parrots.
Distribution / Status
The Fuertes’s Parrot is a critically endangered parrot with a highly restricted range on the west slope of the Central Andes in Caldas of Colombia, near the border of Quindo, Risaralda and Tolima.
This species was known only from the type-series collected at Laguneta and Santa Isabel in 1911 and was thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in July 2002 when the first confirmed sighting was made in the central Andes, close to Los Nevados National Park, when 14 birds were located in a small area of forest.
This species has a very small range and population. Its numbers are declining in the wild as a result of possible displacement by or hybridization with the Rusty-faced Parrot (H. amazonina).
Records from the Alto Quindo Acaime and Caon del Quindo Natural Reserves indicated that the largest group observed consisted of 25 birds and its total population is thought to be fewer than 100 individuals. Recent searches within their range and preferred habitats have not been successful in locating this species.
The Fuertes’s Parrots (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi) forms superspecies with the Rusty-faced Parrot (Hapalopsittaca amazonina amazonina) and the Red-faced Parrot (hapalopsittaca pyrrhops), and all three have commonly been considered conspecific (of, or belonging to, the same species).
Description
Size: Fuertes’s Parrots average 23 cm or 9 inches in length (including its tail).
Adults: The plumage of both male and female plumage is mainly yellowish-green. They have a dull red stripe across the front. The chin and area in front of the cheeks is green. The crown is blue and they have various dull red feathers on the abdomen. The bend of the wing to the lesser wing coverts, carpal edge and lesser underwing coverts are dark red. The tail is brownish-red tipped with a purple-blue. The bill is horn-colored with blue-grey at base of the upper beak. The eyes are green-yellow.
Juveniles lack the red frontal stripe that can be seen in the adult, and are duller in color. The crown shows a hint of pale blue. The bend of the wing to lesser wing coverts, carpal edge (= leading edge of the wing at the “shoulder”) and lesser underwing coverts are darker red. The eyes are grey.
Similar Species: As Rusty-faced Parrots (amazonina), but the rear of the forehead and adjacent cheek areas are greenish-yellow. The chin is green and the crown is blue. The red to the wings is darker. The outer median wing-coverts have a pink edging. The bill is pale ivory with chestnut feathers at the base.
Females look like Rusty-faced (amazonina) hens, but the red to the wing is darker and more of a reddish-brown.
Taxonomy
Species: Scientific: Hapalopsittaca fuertesi aka Hapalopsittaca amazonina fuertesi … English: Indigo-winged Parakeet … Dutch: Fuerte’s Andes Papegaai … German: Chapmans Zwergamazone … French: Perruche amazonina Caldas … CITES II – Endangered Species
