Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Pyrrhura melanura has been split into P. melanura and P. chapmani following an assessment of the latter by Donegan et al. (2018), in light of the previous split of Maroon-tailed Parakeet into P. melanura and P. pacifica (del Hoyo and Collar 2014). While Donegan et al. (2018) are mistaken in scoring two covarying measurements twice, and only 1 is allowed for habitat difference, which in any case is not accepted here as too vague (the elevational difference may well be responsible for the increase in body size). However, in reviewing the photographs used to illustrate these differences it certainly appears that the blue primaries and the darker crown merit 2 each, the buffy nuchal region perhaps only 1 (3 seems extreme), but the size difference vs. melanura (mean wing 136.8 vs 126.6, tail 125.2 vs 109.9 in Table 1 in Ridgely & Robbins 1988, Wilson Bull. 100: 173-182) clearly scores 2, on which basis the form reaches and is accepted here as holding species rank.
Taxonomic source(s)
Donegan, T.; Verhelst, J. C.; Ellery, T.; Cortés-Herrera, O.; Salaman, P. 2016. Revision of the status of bird species occurring or reported in Colombia 2016 and assessment of BirdLife International’s new parrot taxonomy. Conservación Colombiana 24: 12-36.
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2019. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 4. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v4_Dec19.zip.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
high |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The population size of the species has not been directly estimated. A population estimate can be derived based on density estimates of a congener, the Santa Marta Parakeet Pyrrhura viridicata. This species was found at densities of c.4-7 individuals per km2. Assuming that Upper Magdalena Parakeet occurs at a similar density and that 20% of the range are occupied, the population numbers c.11,840-20,720 individuals. This approximately equates to 8,000-14,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification: The population trend of Upper Magdalena Parakeet has not been directly estimated. However, the species’s high dependence on cloud forests makes it vulnerable to deforestation, which is ongoing in its restricted range (Donegan et al. 2016, Collar et al. 2019). Tree cover loss between 2001 and 2018 within the range of Upper Magdalena Parakeet amounted to 530 km2 (Global Forest Watch 2019). Even though there is no information on the intensity of trapping, it is unlikely that the population decline caused by habitat loss and trapping combined exceeds 20% over three generations.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Upper Magdalena Parakeet Pyrrhura chapmani. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/upper-magdalena-parakeet-pyrrhura-chapmani on 28/11/2024.
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 28/11/2024.
