Description: White-bellied caiques are small parrots, averaging 23 cm in length and 165 g in weight. They are easily distinguished from other parrots by their white breast feathers. Other obvious features of the species include an orange forehead and crown, extending to the nape. The orange fades to yellow under the chin, meeting a snowy white breast. There are several distinct color variations between the three white-bellied sub-species. All have white underparts, but differ in thigh and tail colorations. Thighs of leucogaster are green, while both xanthomeria and xanthurus have yellow thighs (xanthurus being paler). For all three sub-species, wing and back feathers are dark green, with wing coverts deep blue. Both leucogaster and xanthomeria have a short green tail with yellow under-tail coverts. Xanthurus displays an entirely yellow tail, including under-tail coverts. The bill for all three is horn colored. Bare skin surrounds the eye, with or without melanistic spots, and nares are pink. Feet of both xanthomeria and xanthurus are grey-black, with leucogaster having pink feet. The three sub-species share a red iris with a grey ring.

Immature birds are sometimes confused with the Black-headed Caique, P. melanocephala, because their crown is often marked with black feathers. These feathers are molted out over a period of six months to a year.

Range: Distributed south of the Amazon River, northern Brazil, west to eastern Peru and south to Santa Cruz province and northern Bolivia.

Habitat: White-bellied caiques usually inhabit lowland forests, preferring trees bordering watercourses. Due to the widespread clearing of forest in northern Brazil the species is undoubtedly in decline, although it is still present in several large reserves in both Brazil and Peru. At the Cocha Casha Biological Station in Manu National Park, south-eastern Peru, flocks are normally encountered in the forest canopy and in the trees located in open areas at the margins of lakes.

Diet: White-bellies congregate mainly in the forest canopy, spending most of the day feeding on a variety of fruits, nuts, berries and seeds.

Social Organization: White-bellies are very social and generally travel in pairs or noisy family groups, nesting in hollows formed in rainfroest trees. The female incubates the eggs 26 days, rarely leaving the nestbox. The male feeds the female while she sits the eggs. The altricial chicks hatch blind with only a few downy feathers, averaging 7.2 g. Both parents feed the chicks by regurgitating partially digested seeds and fruits.

Conservation Status: The white-belly is not presently considered a species of high conservation priority, and has flourished in captive breeding programs. However, as a social parrot easily adapted to captivity, caiques offer many research opportunities germane to conservation initiatives with other psittacines. The conservation prospects for most parrots hinge primarily upon assessments of population viability in the wild, and secondarily upon husbandry and management potential. . As populations of many parrot species decline in nature, the imperative for captive stewardship, from which wild populations might be supplemented or restored, becomes apparent. Captive breeding programs can be vital to thwarting extinctions, particularly when wild populations decline so rapidly and dramatically that in situ mitigative efforts become essentially useless.

Threats to Survival: Like many parrot species, white-bellies are threatened with habitat loss due to human encroachment and harvesting for the pet trade.

Comments/Conclusions: The future of parrot conservation programs depends upon cooperation and exchange of information among aviculturists and conservation biologists. With an established breeding program, genetic database and husbandry protocol, the white-bellied caique can be maintained in captivity indefinitely. If and when needed, this program may assist in the restoration of wild flocks and serve as a template for recovery plans for other parrots. The authors also hope this report inspires collection managers and aviculturists to compile similar information from captive populations of other species.

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