The brown-throated parakeet (''Eupsittula pertinax''), also known as the Prikichi, St. Thomas conure or the brown-throated conure, in
aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity.
Types
There are various reasons that people get involved in aviculture. Some people breed birds to preserve a species. Some people breed parrots ...
, is a species of
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
in the family
Psittacidae
The family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the roughly 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Old World or Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropi ...
.
Taxonomy
The brown-throated parakeet was
formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
in the
tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus ''
Psittacus
''Psittacus'' is a genus of African grey parrots in the subfamily Psittacinae. It contains the two species: the grey parrot (''Psittacus erithacus'') and the Timneh parrot (''Psittacus timneh'').
For many years, the grey parrot and Timneh p ...
'' and coined the
binomial name ''Psittacus pertinax''. The brown-throated parakeet is now one of five species placed in the genus ''
Eupsittula'' that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist
Charles Lucien Bonaparte.
The genus name combines the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
''eu'' meaning "good" with the
Modern Latin
New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy a ...
''psittula'' meaning "little parrot". The specific epithet ''pertinax'' is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
meaning "tenacious" or "persistent".
Fourteen
subspecies are recognised, some of which are island endemics.
[ They have varying colours particularly of the crown, face and underparts.]
* ''E. p. ocularis'' ( Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1865) – Panama
* ''E. p. aeruginosa'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – north Colombia and northwest Venezuela
* ''E. p. griseipecta'' ( Meyer de Schauensee, 1950) – Sinú Valley, northeast Colombia; likely extinct
* ''E. p. lehmanni'' (Dugand
Armando Dugand (July 23, 1906 – 1971) was a Colombian botanist, geobotanist, and ornithologist.
Dugand's father, François Victor (or Francisco Víctor) Dugand, was a successful French banker; his mother was Reyes Geneco (or Gnecco) Coronado.B ...
, 1943) – east Colombia
* ''E. p. arubensis'' ( Hartert, E, 1892) – Aruba (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. pertinax'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. xanthogenia'' ( Bonaparte, 1850) – Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. tortugensis'' (Cory
As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in ...
, 1909) – La Tortuga Island
La Tortuga Island (; "La Tortuga" means "the turtle") is an uninhabited island of Venezuela, the largest in the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela. It is part of a group of islands that include the Tortuguillos and Cayo Herradura. Isla La Tortu ...
(off north Venezuela)
* ''E. p. margaritensis'' Cory
As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in ...
, 1918 – Margarita Island
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...
(off north Venezuela)
* ''E. p. venezuelae'' ( Zimmer, JT & Phelps Phelps may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Phelps, Kentucky
* Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community
* Phelps, New York
** Phelps (village), New York
* Phelps, Wisconsin, a town
** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...
, 1951) – north, central Venezuela
* ''E. p. surinama'' (Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1951) – northeast Venezuela through the north Guianas
* ''E. p. chrysophrys'' ( Swainson, 1838) – southeast Venezuela, central, southwest Guiana and adjacent Brazil
* ''E. p. chrysogenys'' ( Massena & Souancé, 1854) – northwest Brazil
* ''E. p. paraensis'' (Sick
Sick may refer to:
Medical conditions
* Having a disease or infection
* Vomiting (British)
Music
* The Sick, a Swedish band formed by two members of Dozer
Albums
* Sick (Loaded album), ''Sick'' (Loaded album), 2009
* Sick (Massacra album), ' ...
, 1959) – north-central Brazil
Description
The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lower parts being a lighter green than the upper parts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colors depend on the subspecies. Though most subspecies are brown-throated, both ''E. p. pertinax'' and ''E. p. xanthogenia'' have most of the head, including the throat, orange-yellow.[ It is not to be confused with the similarly named extinct brown-headed parakeet of ]Raiatea
Raiatea or Ra'iatea ( Tahitian: ''Ra‘iātea'') is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the "centre" of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the ...
in the Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the ...
(Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
and its neighbors), more commonly known as the Society parakeet
The Raiatea parakeet or Society parakeet (''Cyanoramphus ulietanus''), also known as the Society kakariki or brown-headed parakeet, is an extinct parakeet of the genus ''Cyanoramphus''.
Description
The Raiatea parakeet averaged 25 cm (9.7 ...
. This species of parakeet predominantly eat seeds (such as '' Acacia'' and '' Cassia'') and forage for them in small groups. They also feed on fruits (such as ''Mangifera
''Mangifera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It contains approximately 69 species, with the best-known being the Common Mango (''Mangifera indica''). The center of diversity of the genus is in the Malesian ...
''), nuts, blossoms and occasionally insects. They utter loud calls while flying through the habitat, foraging groups either respond or stay silent. If the foraging group responds, groups flying above may join the foraging group or carry on.
Distribution and habitat
It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub throughout northern South America and the southeastern Caribbean in Colombia, Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, the ABC islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and northern Brazil (mainly the Rio Negro/ Branco region) with a disjunct population in south-western Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...
. Another disjunct population is found in southern Central America in Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
and Costa Rica, and is sometimes considered a separate species, the Veraguas parakeet (''A. ocularis''). The brown-throated parakeet has been introduced to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
(where now possibly extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
), Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name St. Thomas conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...
(at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
and Guadeloupe).
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074965
brown-throated parakeet
Birds of the Caribbean
Birds of Panama
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Venezuela
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of the Guianas
Birds of the Netherlands Antilles
Birds of the Amazon Basin
brown-throated parakeet
brown-throated parakeet
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot