White-necked Parakeet Pyrrhura albipectus Scientific name definitions

The White-necked Parakeet is almost endemic to Ecuador: its center of distribution is in the lower slopes of the Andes in southeastern Ecuador, although it recently was discovered in adjacent portions of Peru. Several species of Pyrrhura parakeet have more or less buffy breasts, but no other species is as pale-breasted as is the White-necked Parakeet: the sides of the neck are white, and the throat and breast are white, more or less tinged with pale yellow. Another distinctive feature is the orange color of the auriculars. The plumage otherwise is mostly greeen, with red primary coverts and blue primaries. The White-necked Parakeet occurs in humid montane forest; its distribution probably is higher than that of the Maroon-tailed Parakeet (Pyrrhura melanura), although perhaps these two species overlap locally. In typical Pyrrhura fashion, White-breasted Parakeets fly in small, close flocks, often in twisting flight through the canopy, and feed in the canopy on a variety of fruits; otherwise very little is known about the biology of this species. The White-breasted Parakeet is common locally, but in view of its restricted distribution in an area subject to deforestation, its IUCN Red List status is assessed as Vulnerable.