Species

Justification
This species is listed as Near Threatened because it is suspected to be declining moderately rapidly owing to habitat loss and, perhaps to a lesser extent, capture for the cagebird trade. Clarification of the population size and trend may lead to its uplisting to Vulnerable in the near future. 

Taxonomic source(s)
SACC. 2006. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html.
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Identification
28 cm. Medium-sized, bright green parrot. Male has broad blue belly-patch. Rounded tail. Somewhat large, horn-coloured bill. Pale, bare eye-ring. Female generally paler. Similar spp. Amazona spp. are larger with shorter tails, and female Pileated Parrot Pionopsitta pileata is smaller. Voice Unpatterned thrush-like phrases. In flight, semi-whistled sounds like parakeet.

Distribution and population
Triclaria malachitacea occurs mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, south-east Brazil. There are additional records from south Bahia (none since 1833), Minas Gerais (a few doubtful records), Espírito Santo (four or five sites), Paraná (three modern records) and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley, Tijucas Valley and Serra do Mar region, in the north of the state [do Rosário 1996, G. Kohler in litt. 2011]). Two records from Misiones, Argentina, require confirmation. The population was formerly estimated at fewer than 5,000 individuals (Lambert et al. 1993), but Bencke (1996) suggested that there may be c.10,000 in Rio Grande do Sul and significant numbers on the east slope of the Serra do Mar, however the apparent rarity of the species suggests that these figures may be an overestimate (J. Gilardi in litt. 2010).


Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'rare' (Stotz et al. 1996).

Trend justification
A moderately rapid and on-going population decline is suspected on the basis of rates of habitat loss and perhaps, to a much lesser extent, capture for the bird trade.

Ecology
It inhabits lower montane and escarpment forests up to 1,000 m, ranging into lowland forests outside the breeding season. In Rio Grande do Sul, it nests on flat, ridgeline terrain (possibly an artefact of lowland forest destruction) (Bencke 1998) but, in the Serra do Mar, most records are along valley watercourses. Trichilia claussenii may be an important nest-tree in Rio Grande do Sul, with Eugenia rostrifolia, Alchornea triplinervea and Cupania vernalis frequently possessing suitable natural cavities (Bencke 1998). Nesting occurs from September (October in Rio Grande do Sul) to January (Bencke 1998). It has a varied diet, including palmito palms Euterpe edulis and occasionally maize (Bencke 1996). It is vulnerable to fragmentation and appears to require fragments of over 60 ha to persist (Uezu et al. 2005).

Threats
There has been extensive habitat loss for agricultural conversion, urbanisation and intensive palmito collecting. Even the moister valleys in the Serra do Mar are under conversion to banana plantations on the lower slopes. In Rio Grande do Sul, cutting for fuelwood to cure tobacco is fragmenting habitat (Bencke 1996). During the mid-1980s, small numbers were found in international trade. There is some internal trade but the species is rarely recorded in captitity (Bencke 1996, C. Yamashita in litt. 2012).

Conservation actions underway
CITES Appendix II and protected under Brazilian law. It occurs in 14 protected areas in Brazil (Develey 1997), and most recent observations outside Rio Grande do Sul have been in reserves. In Rio Grande do Sul, clearance of native forest is prohibited, fuelwood extraction requires a licence and suitable areas for incorporation in a reserve network have been identified (Bencke 1996). Some preliminary public awareness activities have been undertaken (Bencke 1996).

Conservation actions proposed
Monitor large populations. Create a reserve network in Rio Grande do Sul, implemented at the municipal level through land acquisition (Bencke 1996). Initiate a long-term plan for sustainable forest management of tobacco in Rio Grande do Sul (Bencke 1996). Expand public awareness activities at appropriate properties and schools (Bencke 1996).

References
Collar, N. J.; Gonzaga, L. P.; Krabbe, N.; Madroño Nieto, A.; Naranjo, L. G.; Parker, T. A.; Wege, D. C. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas: the ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, U.K.

Lambert, F.; Wirth, R.; Seal, U. S.; Thomsen, J. B.; Ellis-Joseph, S. 1993. Parrots: an action plan for their conservation 1993-1998.

Bencke, G. A. 1996. The ecology and conservation of the Blue-bellied Parrot Triclaria malachitacea in forest fragments in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

do Rosário, L. A. 1996. As aves em Santa Catarina: distribuiçao geográfica e meio ambiente. Glorianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Develey, P. F. 1997. Ecologia de bandos mistos de aves de Mata Atlântica na Estaçao Ecológica Juréia-Itatins.

Bencke, G. A. 1998. Notes on the breeding of Blue-bellied Parrot Triclaria malachitacea. Cotinga 10: 71-78.

Uezu, A.; Metzger, J. P.; Vielliard, J.M.E. 2005. Effects of structural and functional connectivity and patch size on the abundance of seven Atlantic Forest bird species. Biological Conservation 123: 507-519.

Further web sources of information
Detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Hear sounds for this species from xeno-canto, the community database of shared bird sounds from around the world.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoa y la categora de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicacin.

View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Babarskas, M., Benstead, P., Capper, D., Symes, A.

Contributors
Gilardi, J., Kohler, G.

IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Taylor, J.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Triclaria malachitacea. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/05/2013.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Additional resources for this species

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