The crimson-fronted parakeet (''Psittacara finschi''), also known as Finsch's parakeet or Finsch's conure, is a small green

Neotropical parrot The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and (formerly) the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familiar an ...

. It is found in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and western

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 Cos ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

and heavily degraded former forest.

Taxonomy

Like other ''Psittacara'' species, it was formerly placed in the genus ''

Aratinga ''Aratinga'' is a genus of South American conures. Most are predominantly green, although a few are predominantly yellow or orange. They are social and commonly seen in groups in the wild. In Brazil, the popular name of several species usually is ...

''.

Description

The parrots are in length, and in weight. Both male and female adults of the crimson-fronted parakeet are completely green to yellow with a red cap and bare white ring around its orange eye. Their beaks are a dull orange in color. They have red carpal edges, outer lesser underwing

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are s ...

, and bend of their wings. These are also sometimes tinted orange. Their outer greater underwing coverts are yellow, while the inner underwing coverts are green. They may have markings on their thighs. Juveniles are also the same color as the adults, but have either no or a minimal amount of red on the head, and also lack red patches on the thighs. Their eyes are grey.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. It upper elevation limit is 1,600 meters

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. It is a migratory species.

Behavior and ecology

Breeding

The parrots' breeding season is in July. The clutch is usually of 3-4 eggs.

Feeding

It has been observed feeding on wood, an uncommon habit in parrots.

Gallery

File:Crimson-fronted parakeet Osa.JPG, Pair in the wild on the

Osa Peninsula The Osa Peninsula ( es, Península de Osa) is a peninsula located in southwestern Costa Rica, in the Puntarenas Province, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Golfo Dulce to the east. The peninsula was formed geologically by a faulting sy ...

File:Aratinga Finschi juvenil.JPG, Juvenile File:Aratinga finschi -San Jose, Costa Rica-8.jpg, Adult in San Jose,

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q27075002 Finsch's parakeet Birds of Nicaragua Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Finsch's parakeet Finsch's parakeet Taxonomy articles created by Polbot