Classification Of Parrotlets

The categorization of animals in general is a fascinating topic, with knowledge and classification systems changing often throughout the years. I won’t bore you by going back to Darwin, but I intend to cover the history of parrotlet classification.

Parrotlets were incorrectly classified in various categories in the early twentieth century. They were relocated multiple times in an effort to better identify the new birds that were being found virtually daily at the time. Our parrotlet pals were labeled as parakeets, lovebirds, and everything in between. It wasn’t until the overall categorization of broad-tailed parrots was established that their real name was revealed: our tiny pals are Forpus.

The modern categorization of parrotlets is divided into the following classification groups:

Class – Aves

Order – Psittaciformes

Family – Psittacidae

Sub-family – Psittacinae

Genus *

Species *

Sub-species *

Parrotlets are recognized in a variety of ways, the most precise being by their genus, species, and subspecies classifications. Parrotlets are often known to by their common name, such as Pacific or Green Rump, and other times by their native region, such as Trinidad. Others, like the Ridgway parrotlet, are named for the person who found them. You’re probably wondering how we managed to keep these birds straight with so many different ways to refer to the same species. It has not been simple, and many mistakes in the identification of parrotlets have been made and rectified. These factors exacerbated the situation.

Parrotlets are classified into three genera: Forpus, Nannopsittaca, and Touit. This article will solely cover the genus Forpus.

Common Name	Blue Winged Parrotlet
Other Names
Current Classification	Forpus xanthopterygius (Spix 1824)
Previous Classifications
Sub-Species	Forpus xanthopterygius xanthopterygius (Spix 1824)
Sub-Species	Forpus x. flavescens (Salvadori)
Other Names	Salvadori’s Blue Wing Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus x. olallae (Gyldenstolpe 1941)
Other Names	Olalla’s Blue Wing Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus x. crassirostris (Taczanowski 1883)
Other Names	Large-Billed Parrotlet, Thick-Billed Blue Wing Parrotlet
Previous Classifications	Forpus crassirostris
Sub-Species	Forpus x. flavissimus (Herllmayr 1929)
Other Names	Blue Rump Parrotlet, Ceara Blue Wing Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus x. spengeli (Hartlaub)
Other Names	Spengel’s Parrotlet
Previous Classifications	Forpus spengeli

Common Name	Green Rump Parrotlet
Other Names	Guiana Parrotlet, Green-and-Blue Rump Parrotlet, Passerine Parrot, Passerine Parrotlet, Blue Wing Parakeet
Current Classification	Forpus passerinus (Linné 1758)
Previous Classifications	Forpus modesta, Psittacula gregaria, Psittacus passerinus
Sub-Species	Forpus p. passerinus (Linné 1758)
Sub-Species	Forpus p. cyanochlorus (Schlegel 1864)
Other Names	Schlegel’s Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus p. cyanophanes (Todd 1915)
Other Names	Rio Hacha Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus p. deliciosus (Ridgway 1888)
Other Names	Delicate Parrotlet, Brazilian Parrotlet, Santarem Passerine Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus p. viridissimus (Lafresnaye 1848)
Other Names	Trinidad Parrotlet, Venezuelan Parrotlet, Venezuelan Green Parrotlet

Common Name	Mexican Parrotlet
Other Names	Turquoise Rump Parrotlet, Blue Rump Parrotlet
Current Classification	Forpus cyanopygius (Souancé 1856)
Previous Classifications
Sub-Species	Forpus cyanopygius cyanopygius (Souancé 1856)
Sub-Species	Forpus c. insularis (Ridgway 1888)
Other Names	Grayson’s Parrotlet, Tres Marias Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus c. pallidus (Brewster 1889)
Other Names	Sonoran Parrotlet, Sonora Parrotlet

Common Name	Pacific Parrotlet
Other Names	Celestial Parrotlet, Lesson’s Parrotlet
Current Classification	Forpus coelestis (Lesson 1847)
Previous Classifications
Sub-Species	Forpus coelestis coelestis (Lesson 1847)
Sub-Species	Forpus c. lucida (Ridgway)
Other Names	Ridgway’s Parrotlet

Common Name	Sclater’s Parrotlet
Other Names	Dusky-billed Parrotlet, Black-billed Parrotlet
Current Classification	Forpus sclateri (G. R. Gray 1859)
Previous Classifications
Sub-Species	Forpus sclateri sclateri (G. R. Gray 1859)
Sub-Species	Forpus s. eidos (Peters 1937)
Other Names	Schomburk’s Parrotlet

 

Common Name	Spectacle Parrotlet
Other Names
Current Classification	Forpus conspicillatus (Laresnaye 1848)
Previous Classifications
Sub-Species	Forpus conspicillatus conspicillatus (Laresnaye 1848)
Sub-Species	Forpus c. caucae (Chapman 1915)
Other Names	Cauca Spectacle Parrotlet
Sub-Species	Forpus c. metae (Borrero and Camacho 1961)
Other Names	Meta Spectacle Parrotlet

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