Sun Parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) | Text

Sun Parakeet Aratinga solstitialis

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Justification

Justification of Red List category
This species is heavily threatened by trapping for the national and international bird trade; it has already disappeared from large parts of its range. Its population is now very small and declining, and the species is therefore listed as Endangered.

Population justification
The population has not been quantified across its entire range, but the species is described as very scarce (Collar et al. 2020).

In the species's stronghold in Guyana, where trapping pressure is slowly reducing, the population is apparently starting to show signs of recovery; near Karasabai c. 400 individuals were reported during transect counts (L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020). This roughly equates to 260 mature individuals. In Brazil, the population is reported to number at most 2,500 individuals, but likely below 1,000 mature individuals (ICMBio 2018). Given ongoing trapping pressure and habitat loss particularly in the Brazilian part of the range (Global Forest Watch 2021), the population there may have declined to very low numbers. Based on the count data from Karasabai and the scarcity of records throughout the remainder of the range (Laranjeiras 2011, Collar et al. 2020, eBird 2021) the population is estimated to number 1,000-2,499 mature individuals. An accurate quantification of the population size is urgently required.

Trend justification
As a consequence of very high trapping pressure, the population declined drastically to local extinctions and is now scarce within its range. In Brazil, the rate of decline is put into the band 50-79% over the last three generations (19.6 years; ICMBio 2018). In its stronghold in Guyana, the species is however showing signs of recovery, likely following intense conservation action: anecdotal evidence and transect surveys indicate an increasing population (Collar et al. 2020, L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020).
Nevertheless, as illegal trapping is still ongoing throughout large parts of the range it is inferred that this threat continues to cause ongoing population declines, even though the trend has not been quantified across the entire range.

Distribution and population

Aratinga solstitialis is known from north-eastern Roraima, Brazil, and adjacent Guyana. It is considered hypothetical in Venezuela on the basis of one sight record. Although it was fairly common until the 1970s in the Rupununi-Roraima savannas of western Guyana and Roraima, it has since suffered heavy trapping pressure and it is now very scarce or absent across large parts of its former range.

In Brazil, small flocks have been recorded in São Marcos and Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous lands, and along the road from Santa Elena de Uairén (Venezuela) to Boa Vista (Laranjeiras et al. 2011). Surveys failed to find the species at sites where it was recorded until the 1990s and 2000s, including along the Ireng river, Contão Cotingo river and Maracá Ecological Station (Laranjeiras et al. 2011). Several historic localities no longer contain dry foothill forest that the species apparently requires. In Guyana, the species breeds in the Karasabai area on the Guyanan bank of the Ireng river, but it could not be confirmed south of Lethem, where it had been recorded before (L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020).

Ecology

The species is restricted to dry, semi-deciduous and 'varzea' forests on the slopes of north and north-eastern Roraima. It is mostly observed in mountainous and hilly areas, descending into forested and river valleys to feed (Collar et al. 2020, L. Joyner in litt. 2020). The species appears to require large tracts of intact forests; occasionally it uses edge and secondary vegetation and it may move through open and woodland savanna when dispersing to nearby hilly areas (T. Arndt in litt. 2007, L. F. Silveira in litt. 2007). It is often found in moderately small flocks.

Threats

Due to high demand in the pet trade, this once-common species has declined dramatically during the last few decades (J. Gilardi in litt. 2007). Due to their vocal behaviour, the ease with which birds can be attracted to bait (e.g. corn) and the large distances they will travel, it is easy to trap all the individuals in an area (J. Gilardi in litt. 2007, L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020). Juveniles and adults are poached from tree cavities, which are used as nesting and roosting sites (L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020).
The species has been heavily exported from Guyana during the 1970s and 1980s, leading to its virtual extirpation from that country. An annual export quota of 600 birds was set by Guyana in the 1980s, and it is thought that more than 2,200 individuals were imported into the United States between 1981 and 1985 (J. Gilardi in litt. 2007). Between 2005 and 2016, more than 20,000 individuals were imported in Singapore for the domestic trade, while during the same period over 10,000 individuals were exported from the country for the international market (Aloysius et al. 2019). Even though trapping is illegal in Guyana and Brazil it is still ongoing, and trappers frequently cross the border between Guyana and Brazil to obtain birds for export (T. Arndt in litt. 2007, L. F. Silveira in litt. 2007, ICMBio 2018, L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020).

Habitat loss is a further threat, as forests in the range are burned and logged at a rapid rate for conversion into pastures (ICMBio 2018, Global Forest Watch 2021).

Conservation actions

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. Trapping is illegal in Guyana and Brazil. In Guyana, local communities are enforcing the trapping ban on their lands and confiscate caged birds for release into the wild (L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020). In Karasabai, trained rangers carry out studies on the species's ecology, hold environmental education and awareness projects, and guard nests and monitor the population regularly (L. Joyner and O. Ottema in litt. 2020).
The species is very common in captivity, but it is not known what percentage of this population are hybrids between A. solstitialis and A. maculata (Silveira et al. 2005, L. F. Silveira in litt. 2012).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Produce an up-to-date estimate of the population size. Survey extensively to locate additional populations. Investigate the species's ecology, habitat use and tolerance of open habitats. Monitor the population trend.
Protect suitable habitat. List the species on CITES Appendix I. Enforce the trapping ban. Prevent cross-border trade immediately. Expand education and awareness campaigns, and work with the indigenous communities of the Terra Indígena Raposa Serra do Sol and the Amerindian Community in Karasabai Village to prevent trapping. Establish 'pure bred' captive-breeding lines.

Identification

Acknowledgements

Text account compilers
Hermes, C.

Contributors
Arndt, T., Butchart, S., Ekstrom, J., Gilardi, J., Joyner, L., Laranjeiras, T.O., Mahood, S., Orsi, T., Ottema, O., Pracontal, N., Santos, M.P., Sharpe, C J, Silveira, L.F., Symes, A., Taylor, J. & Zimmer, K.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Sun Parakeet Aratinga solstitialis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/sun-parakeet-aratinga-solstitialis on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.