Golden-capped Parakeet
Aratinga auricapillus
Medium-sized parakeet with a long graduated tail. Usually seen in noisy groups in light woodland, savanna, farmland, and even urban areas. The body is mostly green and contrasts with its black bill, yellow crown, red forehead, and reddish belly patch. It has blue flight feathers, but in flight note the prominent orange underwings.
Identification
It is 30 cm (12 in) long and mostly green with a black beak, white eyerings, orange-red belly, and red face fading to yellow over the crown. Juvenile members of the A. auricapillus group develop their yellow head markings and red coloration on the lower body in adulthood. The approximate weight for golden-capped parakeets is 4.9-5.25 oz.
Taxonomy
The Aratinga genus name was created to describe medium to small south American conures and parrots. As such, alongside its common name as the golden-capped parakeet, it is also called the golden-capped conure. Within the A. solstitialis species group, the golden-capped parakeet is the only member considered to be polytypic: A. auricapillus is said to contain the subspecies A. a. aurifrons. The measured variable for this basis is slightly varied coloration between the two (less red on back and yellow on head for A. a. aurifrons than that of A. auricapillus). Other variables such as size were found to have little variability between the two, and thus the distinction is still under question.
- Scientific name
- Aratinga auricapillus
- Authority
- (Kuhl, 1820)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Aratinga
Range and habitat
The Aratinga auricapillus inhabits mostly the semi-deciduous forests in northeastern Brazil, although through time it has adapted to rural agricultural areas and sometimes even urban cities, spreading throughout the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Goiás, and Paraná.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
As members of the Aratinga solstitialis subspecies, golden-capped parakeets tend to populate their areas of residence within forests in groups, which can range from 4 to 15 individual parakeets. The breeding season occurs during the austral summer, which in the southern hemisphere is from December to March, with pairs being sighted around November and dependent young around March. Golden-capped parakeets have a clutch size of around 3 to 5 eggs per nesting; the incubation period for these eggs is estimated to be around 25 days, and young fledglings take around 7–8 weeks before they are able to take flight.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Brown Babbler
Turdoides plebejus
A dull brownish babbler with brightly colored eyes. Found in moist woodland, dense savanna, scrub, gallery forest, forest edge, cultivated areas, and gardens, almost always in groups that forage actively on the ground. Similar in shape, size, and overall brown coloration to Arrow-marked Babbler, but there is only minor overlap in range, and Brown Babbler can be separated by the paler face and throat and the less pointed white markings on the underparts. Calls include a raspy babbling and a dry clucking, both usually by a whole group in chorus.
Opal-rumped Tanager
Tangara velia
Common tanager, found in a variety of forest habitats. Usually seen from below, in which case it is best identified by uniform dark underparts with rufous lower belly and undertail coverts, and active behavior. The shining white rump can be seen from most angles on perched birds, even when high overhead. Found in tall rainforest, shorter-stature forests on sandy soils, and in disturbed areas. Groups move rapidly through treetops, usually with other species of small tanagers, feeding on fruit. Calls are indistinct chips, often given in rapid series in flight.
Long-billed Bush Warbler
Locustella major
Extremely rare, large, elongated brown warbler with a long slender bill. Fairly similar in appearance to West Himalayan, Chinese, Baikal, and Spotted Bush Warblers, but breeding ranges do not overlap. Like other bush warblers, typically very skulking and furtive, preferring to run instead of fly when threatened. Emerges onto small bushes to sing, producing a dull clicking that would underwhelm a grasshopper. Breeds in weedy and bushy slopes in open alpine and subalpine areas; wintering habitat poorly understood but presumed to be similar habitat at lower altitudes. Very few sightings in recent years.
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