The Story
This Spectacled Parrotlet (Forpus conspicillatus) was at Fundación Orquídeas del Tolima in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. It nests in tree cavities, often using old holes made by other birds. It lives in small flocks, but up to 100 may gather at clay licks. The female incubates while the male guards the nest and feeds her and, later, the chicks. It typically breeds between January and March. It is not found above about 1,600 meters. It prefers open habitat to dense forest. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800, +1 EV. IUCN lists the Spectacled Parrotlet as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Spectacled Parrotlet (Forpus conspicillatus) belongs to the family Psittacidae (New World and African Parrots) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2021), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List