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The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (''Thectocercus acuticaudatus'') is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern
The blue-crowned parakeet is a medium-sized bird measuring approximately in length and weighing between .
Blue-crowns are born with red coloring around the head, but blue-crowns are predominantly green, with dull blue coloring on the forehead, crown, cheeks, and ears in the nominate, but less blue in other
Photo of wild ''T. acuticaudata neumanni''.
/ref> The breast feathers may also be tinged with blue, though they are more commonly green to yellow-green. Closed wing coloring matches that of the body while extended wings show blue-brown, becoming chestnut on the outer flight feathers. The tail feathers are green on top, maroon to red-brown on the underside, iridescing to bright orange and scarlet under full-spectrum light. Legs are pink-brown with grey-brown claws. The upper mandible is horn-colored, tapering to a needle-sharp, grey-black tip. In the southern and western nominate and subspecies ''neumanni'', the lower mandible is horn-colored in juveniles, fading to grey-black by the bird's second year. The remaining eastern, central and northern subspecies retain the horn-colored lower mandible throughout adulthood.
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in the north to northern Argentina in the south. They inhabit savanna-like habitats, woodland and forest margins, but avoid dense humid forest such as the Amazon.
This species is officially called a parakeet by the AOU and by birders, though usually called conures in aviculture.
Taxonomy
While ''T. acuticaudatus'' is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Thectocercus'', this species has five subspecies: *''Thectocercus acuticaudatus'' (Vieillot 1818) **''Thectocercus acuticaudatus acuticaudatus'' (Vieillot 1818) **''Thectocercus acuticaudatus haemorrhous'' (Spix 1824) **''Thectocercus acuticaudatus koenigi'' (Arndt 1995) **''Thectocercus acuticaudatus neoxenus'' (Cory 1909) **''Thectocercus acuticaudatus neumanni'' (Blake and Traylor 1947) Previously, this species was part of the genus '' Aratinga'', but that genus was split in four distinct genera once various phylogenetic studies showed that the genus, as traditionally defined, was polyphyletic.Remsen, Jr., J.V.; Schirtzinger, E.E.; Ferraroni, Anna; Silveira, Luís Fábio; & Wright, Timothy F. (24 April 2013). ''DNA-sequence data require revision of the parrot genus Aratinga (Aves: Psittacidae)''. Zootaxa 3641(3): 296–300. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3641.3.9Description
The blue-crowned parakeet is a medium-sized bird measuring approximately in length and weighing between .
Blue-crowns are born with red coloring around the head, but blue-crowns are predominantly green, with dull blue coloring on the forehead, crown, cheeks, and ears in the nominate, but less blue in other subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
. It has a ring of white featherless skin around each eye, though this is bright orange-yellow in wild ''T. acuticaudata neumanni''.ArdeolaPhoto of wild ''T. acuticaudata neumanni''.
/ref> The breast feathers may also be tinged with blue, though they are more commonly green to yellow-green. Closed wing coloring matches that of the body while extended wings show blue-brown, becoming chestnut on the outer flight feathers. The tail feathers are green on top, maroon to red-brown on the underside, iridescing to bright orange and scarlet under full-spectrum light. Legs are pink-brown with grey-brown claws. The upper mandible is horn-colored, tapering to a needle-sharp, grey-black tip. In the southern and western nominate and subspecies ''neumanni'', the lower mandible is horn-colored in juveniles, fading to grey-black by the bird's second year. The remaining eastern, central and northern subspecies retain the horn-colored lower mandible throughout adulthood.
Breeding
The blue-crowned parakeet's nest is a hole in a tree. The eggs are white and there are usually three to four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for 26 days, and the chicksfledge
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight.
This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...
from the nest about 52 days after hatching.
Aviculture
Blue-crowned parakeets are generally called blue-crowned conures in aviculture. They are social birds and are relatively good talkers compared to other conures. They have become quite popular as pets, with a reputation as one of the "easier" parrots to care for. However, they are also intelligent, high-energy birds that require a lot of attention and a cage with ample room and toys. They can also be quite loud at times. Consequently, they are more appropriate companions for serious bird enthusiasts rather than the casual birdkeeper.In fiction
* A blue-crowned conure was the titular star of the family movie '' Paulie''. The film used 14 different birds.References
External links
* https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685648/132058639 https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=4BE8E5F1B316CC94 {{Taxonbar, from=Q913514 Blue-crowned Parakeet Parrots of South America Birds of Argentina Birds of the Gran Chaco Birds of Bolivia Birds of Brazil Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of the Caatinga Birds of the Pantanal Birds of Paraguay blue-crowned parakeet blue-crowned parakeet Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN