Red-masked Parakeet
Psittacara erythrogenys
A medium-sized green parakeet with a long tail and red underwings and thighs (red on the thighs not easy to see). Similar to Mitred Parakeet, but usually has more red on the face, extending below and behind the eye, as well as red patches on the underwing. Usually seen in pairs or flocks of up to 30 birds in lowland dry forest. Calls are loud screeches. Introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and California.
Identification
Red-masked parakeets average about 33 centimetres (13 in) long, of which half is the tail. They are bright green with a mostly red head on which the elongated pale eye-ring is conspicuous; the nape is green. Also, the lesser and median underwing coverts are red, and there is some red on the neck, the thighs, and the leading edge of the wings. Juveniles have green plumage, until their first red feathers appear at around the age of four months. Its call is two-syllabled, harsh and loud.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Psittacara erythrogenys
- Authority
- Lesson, RP, 1844
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Psittacara
Range and habitat
These birds are native to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru, where they primarily live in jungle and deciduous forest. They can also thrive in semiarid regions as well as in suburban regions. While they can live up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level, they are usually found below the 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) mark. Their wide distribution and popularity as pets contributes to their successful introduction in other areas upon release especially in the southern and western areas of the United States as exotic feral birds.<p>Escaped cage birds are considered to be introduced in Spain. They make up most of the feral population in San Francisco, California, in the United States, which is documented in the film The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill by Judy Irving, based on the book of the same name by Mark Bittner. They are also seen in part of Hawaii. Breeding populations of feral parakeets have been observed in California in San Francisco, San Diego County, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Sunnyvale, Orange County, Palo Alto and Long Beach. The birds have been observed feeding on the fruits and flowers and nesting in palm trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
It has been the tenth most common Neotropical parrot imported into the US with over 26,000 parakeets checked in from 1981 to 1985.[citation needed] This bird was formerly more common in its limited range, and was reclassified by the IUCN from a species of least concern to a species that is near threatened in 1994. This is due to declining populations brought by widespread local pet trade in Peru and Ecuador, which has contributed to habitat loss and fragmentation.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Collared Kingfisher
Todiramphus chloris
A mid-sized kingfisher with a variable plumage pattern; nearly 50 subspecies described worldwide. All of them have a greenish-blue crown, a white spot above the lores, a black mask extending down as a narrow band across the hindneck, and a white collar. Upperparts are greenish-blue, rump brighter blue, with blue wings and tail and white underparts. Female and juvenile slightly duller. Subspecies mainly differ in plumage, with upperparts varying from blue to green to olive-toned, white loral spot sometimes extending as a supercilium, and underparts sometimes buffier. Gives various vocalizations, but most common call is a “kek-kek-kek-kek.” Frequents mangroves and tidal creeks, though sometimes inhabits other habitats, including coconut plantations in islands.
Brasilia Tapaculo
Scytalopus novacapitalis
Small gray bird, typically fiendishly difficult to see in swampy gallery forest with ferns. Plump, with a short tail; note the cinnamon and black bars on vent. Like many tapaculos, the song is a long and monotonous repetition, in this case of a single “ewk” note.
Wattled Crane
Bugeranus carunculatus
A large, grayish crane with a gleaming white neck, conspicuous wattles, and red facial skin. The immature is duller and lacks wattles, but it retains the distinctive pale neck of the adult. It requires sedge-dominated wetlands for breeding but will forage on adjacent grasslands and plains, where it digs for tubers, insects, and small vertebrates. The Wattled Crane is resident in larger wetlands, where it breeds in pairs, although flocks of up to 1,000 may gather after breeding. It is locally nomadic in smaller perennial wetlands in alpine grasslands. Although it is mostly silent, it has a distinctive, rapid, screechy “Koorok-kreek” call.
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