Santarem Parakeet

The Santarém parakeet (Pyrrhura amazonum), also known as Hellmayr's parakeet or in aviculture as Hellmayr's conure or the Santarém conure, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in the eastern and central sections of the Amazon basin south of the Amazon River, only just extending onto the northern bank of this river. == Taxonomy == There are three subspecies recognized by the International Ornithological Congress: P. a. amazonum Hellmayr, 1906 - north of the Amazon River between Monte Alegre and Obidos, south of the Amazon between the Tapajós and Tocantins rivers P. a. pallescens Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926 (previously P. a. snethlageae) - Madeira River basin in southwest Brazil and northern Bolivia P. a. lucida Arndt, 2008 - in the vicinity of the Teles Pires and Cristalino Rivers, in Mato Grosso It has typically been considered a subspecies of the painted parakeet. While reviewing this group, Joseph (2002) discovered that an undescribed population existed in central Brazil (later also found in north-eastern Bolivia). It was described as Pyrrhura snethlageae (Joseph and Bates, 2002). No diagnostic difference was found between the taxa amazonum and microtera; it was therefore recommend that the latter should be considered a junior synonym…