Golden-plumed Parakeet
Leptosittaca branickii
Large green parakeet, locally distributed in high-elevation forests near treeline. The thin yellow stripe extending behind the eye is distinctive, but can be difficult to see. Has less red in the head than other large parakeets in range; also note the yellow feathering on the belly. Found in high-quality forest with Podocarpus trees for feeding and wax palms for nesting. Note also its distinctive voice, lower-pitched and less harsh than other parakeets.
Identification
The Golden-plumed parakeet is a large and long tailed montane parakeet that resides in the Andean cloud forests of Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Adult golden-plumed parakeets are mostly bright green with orangish yellow lores and small golden yellow crests behind the eyes. Their bellies are a faded yellowish color with reddish orange feathers scattered about. Golden-plumed parakeets have yellowish flight feathers on their underside as well as strongly reddish color feathers on the underside of their tail. Juvenile golden-plumed parakeets strongly resemble the adults, but their bellies are a paler green, yellow, and orange color as well as having pale pink bills.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Leptosittaca branickii
- Authority
- Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1894
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Leptosittaca
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
Golden-plumed Parakeets usually abide in groups of 5-15 and can be seen in groups as large as 35-40 birds. The Golden–plumed parakeet likely has a nomadic movement pattern, leaving the nest when the chicks have fledged and returning next breeding season. Also, they are usually on exposed branches and outer crowns of Wax palms and are very active callers. Their call is a shrill sound that is present in flight and while they are perched, and it can be heard all year and more frequently during nesting areas during the breeding season. During copulation, the males and females share the same perch and gradually approach each other. The male slowly mounts the female and they both raise their long tails, rub together their cloacas, and shake their tails literally for 1–2 minutes.
Conservation
Habitat degradation and fragmentation are the two main threats causing a decline in the number of Golden-plumed Parakeets in Ecuador. There are only about 7,300-20,000 Golden-plumed parakeets mature adults left today as a result of fragmentation and habitat loss. There are conversation sites scattered throughout their region to aid their struggle.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Angola Swallow
Hirundo angolensis
A small swallow with blue upperparts, chestnut forecrown, and throat with a narrow incomplete dark breast band and gray underparts. Singles, pairs and groups are residents and intra-African migrants to open grassland, cultivation, and wetland fringes. Barn Swallow is similar to Angola but is larger with much longer outer tail feathers, broader complete breast band and white underparts; Ethiopian Swallow has buff (not chestnut) throat and white (not gray) underparts. Vocalizations include typically swallow-like weak twitters.
Dusky Eagle-Owl
Ketupa coromanda
A very large, grayish-brown owl with yellow eyes and distinctive ears. Note the fine barring and dark streaks on the pale underparts, and white patches on the shoulders. In flight, wings and tail are strongly barred below. Perches in tall trees, usually near a water body, where it waits for birds and mammals to pounce upon. The call is a distinctive series of low, guttural notes that increase in volume and speed before trailing off towards the end.
Little Cormorant
Microcarbo niger
An all black ducklike waterbird with a distinctive flattish head and a bill that is sharply hooked at the tip. Smallest of the cormorants found in the region. Breeding adults have white plumes on the sides of the head. Like all cormorants, frequently seen swimming with its body low in the water, head and neck pointing upward, and suddenly disappearing underwater to catch fish. Often perches upright on a rock, drying itself with outstretched wings. Seen singly or in small groups in inland water bodies. Similar to Indian Cormorant, but note smaller size, stouter bill, and shape of the head, flat on Little Cormorant and rounded on Indian Cormorant.
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