White-winged Parakeet
| White-winged Parakeet | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White-winged Parakeet |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Brotogeris versicolurus | ||||||||||||
| ( Statius Müller , 1776) |
The white-winged parakeet ( Brotogeris versicolurus ) is a species of the New World parrot . It occurs exclusively in South America. The species is classified as harmless by the IUCN . It is closely related to the canary-winged parakeet .
Appearance
The White-winged Parakeet reaches a body length of 22 centimeters and is thus slightly smaller than the Tirika Parakeet .
The plumage is predominantly pale green. The forehead, crown, reins, ear covers, cheeks and chin are covered in gray-blue. The underbust and the belly have a slightly stronger green color. The dorsal plumage and the upper tail-coverts are dark green, as are the wing coverts and the small and medium-sized wing coverts. The large elytra, on the other hand, are yellow and the palm coverts are dark blue. The first four hand wings are green-blue, the rest are white. The wings are whitish yellow.
The beak is horn colored and the bare eye ring is whitish. The iris is dark brown. The feet and legs are flesh-colored.
Spread and behavior
The white-winged parakeet occurs in Peru east of the Andes, in the southeast of Colombia and along the Amazon and its main tributaries. As an introduced species, the white-winged parakeet occurs in Lima west of the Andes and in the area of Los Angeles , San Francisco and Miami as well as on Puerto Rico .
White-winged parakeets feed on seeds, berries and flowers. More precise observations on the reproductive behavior of the White-winged Parakeet are mainly available through observations based on the introduced parrots in San Francisco. The group of only 12 to 17 birds in the 1970s nested in date palms. The breeding caves were dug in the interfaces where the palm fronds were separated. During the breeding season, both parent birds stayed in the nest box. The breeding season began in California in March. From June to July, the adult birds and their offspring rejoined the flock. The juvenile mortality rate was very high. The flock of white-winged parakeets mainly used three spots within San Francisco. A regular daily movement pattern was observed that varied only slightly depending on the season. The young birds died because they were either caught by birds of prey or lost contact with the flock during the long flights between sleeping and feeding places and then starved to death within the city.
Keeping in human care
White-winged parakeets were first imported to Europe in 1862. However, this parakeet was rarely used as an ornamental bird. It was not until 1960 and 1980 that large numbers of these species were imported into Europe. In Great Britain this species was even one of the most common imported parrot species for a time.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
literature
- Thomas Arndt : South American Parakeets - Encyclopedia of Parrots and Parakeets , Volume 5, Horst Müller-Verlag , Walsrode 1986, ISBN 3-923269-09-9 .
Web links
- Brotogeris versicolurus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2013.