Grey-breasted parakeet

Grey-breasted parakeet
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Genus:	Pyrrhura
Species:	P. griseipectus
Binomial name
Pyrrhura griseipectus Salvadori, 1900
Synonyms
Pyrrhura leucotis griseipectus Pyrrhura anaca

The grey-breasted parakeet is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to Ceará in north-eastern Brazil and restricted to a few mountains with relatively humid forest and woodland in a region otherwise dominated by arid Caatinga. They now only live in two locations, Serra do Baturité and Quixadá.

Until recently, it was considered a subspecies of the white-eared parakeet, as Pyrrhura leucotis griseipectus. The split was based on their widely disjunct distributions, differences in measurement of bill, and subtle differences in colour of crown, ear-coverts and chest. A recent study based on mtDNA has failed to confirm the status of the grey-breasted parakeet as a species distinct from the white-eared parakeet, while confirming the species status of Pfrimer's parakeet.

After a decade of conservation efforts that included providing nest boxes, the population has seen a significant increase in size from less than 250 to upwards of 1,000 individuals. In 2017, the species was down-listed on the IUCN Red List from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• South American Classification Committee: Treat Pyrrhura griseipectus and P. pfrimeri as distinct species from Pyrrhura leucotis.
• Ribas, C. C., L. Joseph, C. Y. Miyaki (2006). Molecular systematics and patterns of diversification in Pyrrhura (Psittacidae), with special reference to the picta-leucotis complex. The Auk 123(3): 660–680.