P. l. xanthurus

Yellow Tail Caiques have a yellow tail and are paler in coloration overall. There are no known examples of this sub-species in North America. The geographical range of this sub-species is much smaller than that of the other two. It is said that this species is currently kept and bred in Europe. The rarety of this bird is such that there are only a few known photographs of this sub species at the time. The species distribution map shows the suggested origin of wild yellow tail caiques. As you will note, the range of the green thigh and yellow tail overlap, which is under scrutiny by aviculturists. There is a photo available that shows a yellow tail caique, and suspected ‘intermediary species’ of caique that appears to be a green thigh/yellow tail hybrid.

According to John McMichael of thecaiquesite.com, other names the Yellow Tail Caique is known by include:

Yellow-tailed caique

Yellow-tailed white-bellied caique

Q: Why the rarety of this bird??

A: The species of white bellied caiques, as a whole (encompassing the nominate species and two sub species) have a natural range within Brazil, which has long stopped importation and exportation of exotics. Few countries outside of South America have yellow tail stock, thus captive breeding numbers are low.

Breeding Season
Because the two caique species differ in territory, their breeding seasons differ slightly. The Black-Headed caique’s natural season is March to October, and eggs are incubated for 13-14 weeks.

The White Belly Caique’s season is February to October, also with an incubation period of 13-14 weeks.

Sources- John McMichael & Gloria Balaban

There were a couple of photos recently uncovered the the yellow tail caique. They appear below.