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Parrots (2 Viewers)

Ara severus

Adam Dawid Urantówka, Aleksandra Kroczak & Paweł Mackiewicz (2017) Complete mitochondrial genome of chestnut-fronted macaw (Ara severus, Psittaciformes), Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 2:1, 35-36, DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2016.1250131

[pdf]
 
With thanks to Manuel A. Plenge on NEOORN:
Latta, Steven C., Andrea K. Townsend, and Irby J. Lovette 2010. The origins of the recently discovered Hispaniolan Olive-throated Parakeet: A phylogeographic perspective on a conservation conundrum. Caribbean Journal of Science, 46 (2/3): 143-149.

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The Olive-throated Parakeet (Aratinga nana) occurs on the eastern slope of Middle America and the island of Jamaica. A resident population has been recently discovered in remote areas of Hispaniola, where it might represent an overlooked relict population or a recent introduction. If the Hispaniolan population of A. nana is native, then it would merit conservation attention. Conversely, if the Hispaniolan population is a recent non-natural introduction, the potential for competitive interactions with the threatened endemic Hispaniolan Parakeet, Aratinga chloroptera, should be assessed. To explore the origins of the Hispaniolan A. nana population, we sequenced the mitochondrially encoded ND2 gene from individuals from five mainland populations of A. nana vicinalis and A. nana astec, as well as the Jamaican A. nana nana and the Hispaniolan A. nana (subspecies unknown). Mitochondrial variation was highly structured into well differentiated island and mainland clades separated by close to 2% nucleotide divergence, but within each group there was very low ND2 haplotype variation. These results suggest that the Jamaican and Hispaniolan populations are evolutionarily distinct from the mainland populations, and they add support to the hypothesis that the Hispaniolan A. nana population results from a recent, human-mediated introduction.

Niels
 
''Taxonomically we suggest to reexamine the delimitation of the genera Mascarinus, Tanygnathus and Psittacula to each other, probably resulting in merging all three to a single genus Psittacula''

Unnecessary since the creation of Nicopsitta, Himalayapsitta and Alexandrinus, and the resurrection of the genera Belocercus and Palaeornis by Braun and al., although not officially recognized. But, once again, it's just a matter of time.
 
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Touit parrotlets

Schodde, Bock, Watling & Pacheco 2013. Case 3640 Touit G.R. Gray, 1855 and Prosopeia Bonaparte, 1854 (Aves, PSITTACIDAE): proposed conservation of usage. BZN 70(4): 245–248. [abstract]
ICZN. 2017. Opinion 2383 (Case 3640) — Touit G.R. Gray, 1855 and Prosopeia Bonaparte, 1854 (Aves, Psittacidae): usage of names conserved. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 73:150-151.
[abstract]
 
Calyptorhynchus baudinii

ICZN. 2017. Opinion 2390 (Case 3658) — Calyptorhynchus baudinii Lear, 1832 and Calyptorhynchus latirostris Carnaby, 1948 (Aves, Cacatuidae): usage of specific name conserved by designation of a neotype. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 73:167-169.
[abstract]
 
D.D. Chin and D. Lentink (2017)
How birds direct impulse to minimize the energetic cost of foraging flight
Science Advances 3: e1603041
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1603041
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1603041

Birds frequently hop and fly between tree branches to forage. To determine the mechanical energy trade-offs of their bimodal locomotion, we rewarded four Pacific parrotlets with a seed for flying voluntarily between instrumented perches inside a new aerodynamic force platform. By integrating direct measurements of both leg and wing forces with kinematics in a bimodal long jump and flight model, we discovered that parrotlets direct their leg impulse to minimize the mechanical energy needed to forage over different distances and inclinations. The bimodal locomotion model further shows how even a small lift contribution from a single proto-wingbeat would have significantly lengthened the long jump of foraging arboreal dinosaurs. These avian bimodal locomotion strategies can also help robots traverse cluttered environments more effectively.

Enjoy,

Fred
 
Thomas Arndt, Michael Wink. Molecular systematics, taxonomy and distribution of the Pyrrhura picta–leucotis complex. The Open Ornithology Journal, 2017, 10.
Van Remsen today on NEOORN (rightly, I'm afraid):
As I have already mentioned to some colleagues, be aware that none of the new names presented in the paper is valid! The journal is published online only, therefore the new names should have been registered at Zoobank and the corresponding urn code should appear in the PDF.
V.
 
Socorro parakeet

Martínez-Gómez, J.E., Matías-Ferrer, N. & Escalante-Pliego, P. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Socorro parakeet (Psittacara holochlorus brevipes): recent speciation with minor morphological differentiation. J Ornithol (2017). doi:10.1007/s10336-017-1465-4

[abstract]
 
Urantowka, Kroczak, Mackiewicz. 2017. The influence of molecular markers and methods on inferring the phylogenetic relationships between the representatives of the Arini (parrots, Psittaciformes), determined on the basis of their complete mitochondrial genomes. BMC Evol. Biol. 17:166.
[whole paper]
 
Timothy F. Wright & Christine R. Dahlin. Vocal dialects in parrots: patterns and processes of cultural evolution. Emu - Austral Ornithology Vol. 0 , Iss. 0,0, Published online: 12 Oct 2017.

Abstract:

Vocal dialects have fascinated biologists for over 50 years. This mosaic pattern of geographic variation in learned vocalisations was first described in a songbird, and since that time most studies investigating dialects have focused on songbird species. Here we examine patterns of geographic variation in the calls of a different group of vocal learning birds, the parrots (order Psittaciformes). We summarise the growing literature on vocal variation in parrots, and complement this review with a survey of variation in the genus Amazona using calls from sound libraries. We find strikingly similar patterns to those previously found in songbirds. Over 90% of parrots examined in the literature, and 69% of Amazona species surveyed, showed geographic variation consistent with a propensity to share local call types. This trait is evolutionarily labile and widespread; within Amazona most clades contained species with and without geographic variation, and most major lineages of parrots include representatives with dialects. We found little support for the long-standing hypothesis that dialects isolate populations and thus generate genetic differences among populations. Instead, most studies support the idea that dialects are maintained by social benefits of matching local call types, a finding that has implications for the management of captive and endangered populations. Considerable scope remains for studies that experimentally test hypotheses for the exact nature of these benefits, as well as studies that employ comparisons among species, to understand how the interplay between ecology, social dynamics and vocal learning capacities produces different patterns of variation across the parrots.
 
Martínez-Gómez, J.E., Matías-Ferrer, N. & Escalante-Pliego, P. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Socorro parakeet (Psittacara holochlorus brevipes): recent speciation with minor morphological differentiation. J Ornithol (2017). doi:10.1007/s10336-017-1465-4

[abstract]

Red-throated Parakeet rubritorquis should also be come a full species according to their recommendations (mentioned in the abstract but not included in the title).

Niels
 
Anodorhynchus macaws

Papavero, N.; Teixeira, D. M. (2016) Um breve histórico das araras do gênero Anodorhynchus Spix, 1824 (Aves, Psittaciformes). Arquivos de Zoologia 47 (1).

Abstract

Since the Antiquity, parrots, parakeets and their relatives (Psittacidae) aroused a great interest in Europe, both for their colours as for their notorious capacity of interacting with human beings. With the discovery of the Americas, new species would be introduced in the traffic of exotic animals a long time ago established by Europeans with Africa and the East. Effectively, even before Columbus finished his fourth and last voyage (1502-1504), neotropical parrots had already made their appearance in chronicles, in the cartography and the fine arts. Although the oldest notices about blue macaws of the genus Anodorhynchus date from the end of the 16th century, and the first image from the beginning of the 17th century, those birds would be better known by Europeans only in the second half of the 18th century. In a general way, the sources examined herein proved to be especially significant for Anodorhynchus glaucus, as all the first hand information about the biology and the behavior of this macaw are registered in testimonies prior the 20th century. It is not impossible to suppose, therefore, that further details about this species and a better understanding of its mysterious disappearance could be obtained from the perusal of the vast documentary collection about the Rio de la Plata basin left by Jesuits, as well as from a more accurate reading of the reports by travelers and naturalists which, such as Friedrich Sellow and Auguste de Saint Hilaire, journeyed through Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil.

Full text in Portuguese:
https://www.revistas.usp.br/azmz/article/view/111141
 
Provost, Joseph, Smith. 2017. Resolving a phylogenetic hypothesis for parrots: implications from systematics to conservation. Emu.
[abstract & suppl.mat.]

ABSTRACT
Advances in sequencing technology and phylogenetics have revolutionised avian biology by providing an evolutionary framework for studying natural groupings. In the parrots (Psittaciformes), DNA-based studies have led to a reclassification of clades, yet substantial gaps remain in the data gleaned from genetic information. Here we provide an overview of published genetic data of parrots, characterise sampling depth across the phylogeny, and evaluate support for existing systematic treatments. We inferred a concatenated tree with 307 species from a 30-gene supermatrix. We recovered well-supported relationships among recently proposed clades. Taxonomic groups were more stable towards the base of the tree and increased sampling will be required to clarify relationships at the tips, particularly below the generic level. Only a third of species have been sampled intraspecifically in population genetic or phylogeographic surveys. Intraspecific sampling has not been geographically or phylogenetically even across Psittaciformes, especially poor in the cockatoos, Southeast Asia, and parts of Australo-Papua. Threatened species are poorly sampled in the Neotropics. We highlight where effort should be focused to improve sampling based on geography and conservation status. In sum, phylogenetic relationships among the major parrot clades are robust, but relationships within and between genera and species provide opportunities for future investigations.
KEYWORDS: Psittaciformes, supermatrix, biodiversity, phylogeography, conservation genetics, IUCN Red List
 

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