Black-eared parrot

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black-eared parrot
Black-eared Parrot (Pionus menstruus)

Black-eared Parrot ( Pionus menstruus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Parrots (Psittaciformes)
Family : True parrots (Psittacidae)
Tribe : New World Parrots (Arini)
Genre : Red-tipped Parrots ( Pionus )
Type : Black-eared parrot
Scientific name
Pionus menstruus
( Linnaeus , 1766)

The black-eared parrot ( Pionus menstruus ) is a parrot of the Neotropics .

features

The 28 cm long black-eared parrot is a strongly built parrot with a large head and short tail.

The plumage is mostly green with a pink spot on the throat and red under tail coverts. The head, neck and chest are bright blue, the ear covers dark. The sexes look alike. The young birds have fewer blue parts on their heads and are usually completely green feathered at the beginning. Later they develop more and more blue feathers and after about 1 year they are colored like their parents.

Occurrence

The distribution area covers large parts of tropical America from Costa Rica to Bolivia and south-east Brazil. The black-eared parrot lives in forests and semi-open landscapes, including cultivated land.

behavior

As a rule, the black-eared parrot lives alone or in pairs and looks for fruits, seeds, flowers and nuts in tree tops.

Outside the breeding season, the birds also form large flocks and can eat large amounts of fruit and crops such as maize in plantations. The parrots often fly a considerable distance to and from their roosts, usually in rapid, vigorous flight with loud, harsh screams and high-pitched, screeching calls high above the trees. The animals can also be seen eating mineral-rich soil with other parrots, which is likely to neutralize the toxins they ingest with part of their vegetable diet.

Reproduction

Black-eared parrot with chicks, 1–2 days old

The breeding pair builds a nest in very high tree hollows. The clutch of three to four, rarely 5 white eggs is mainly incubated by the female between 23 and 28 days. Both parent birds feed the young birds, which fledge at around eight weeks of age and leave the nest. A few days before the actual start of breeding, the pairs separate from the swarm and become more aggressive. Dimensions 31.5 mm × 25.1 mm, breeding often begins from February to June; it is usually incubated from the 1st egg; Breeding time approx. 23 days; Nestling time approx. 65 days; Young animals from 90 days independent; Nest box size 25 cm × 25 cm × 50 cm. Feeding: various types of fruit and vegetables (broccoli, figs, peas, mango, papaya, apples, pears, bananas, ...) varied grain mix, semi-ripe seeds, sprouted food, fresh branches with buds, regular minerals; Before and during the brood rearing feed, lactose-free yoghurt etc. a.

Duration

The black-eared parrot was widespread and mostly still found everywhere. Distribution area: Central and South America (Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and occasionally Trinidad). It is now on the 2013 Red List.

Web links

Commons : Pionus menstruus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

literature