The nanday parakeet (''Aratinga nenday''), also known as the black-hooded parakeet or nanday conure, is a medium-small, mostly 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 ...

native to continental South America.

Taxonomy

The nanday parakeet was previously regarded as a member of the monotypic genus ''Nandayus'' Bonaparte, 1854 one of the rough 16 genera of Neotropical parrots of tribe Arini which includes the

conure Conures are a diverse, loosely defined group of small to medium-sized parrots. They belong to several genera within a long-tailed group of the New World parrot subfamily Arinae. The term "conure" is used primarily in bird keeping, though it has ...

s and

macaw Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild. Biology Of the many differe ...

s. However, phylogenetic evidence showed that it is positioned in one of the four groups in the genus ''Aratinga''. When the genus ''Aratinga'' was revised and split in four separate genera, this species was included in the current genus ''Aratinga''.DNA-sequence data require revision of the parrot genus Aratinga (Aves: Psittacidae) J.V. Remsen, Jr., Erin E. Schirtzinger, Anna Ferraroni, Luís Fábio Silveira & Timothy F. Wright This revision was based on earlier studies. According to a

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

-based

phylogenetic analysis In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

of the genus ''Aratinga'' by Ribas & Miyaki (2004), the nanday conure forms a monophyletic group with the

sun conure The sun parakeet (''Aratinga solstitialis''), also known in aviculture as the sun conure, is a medium-sized, vibrantly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with black beaks, pre ...

(''A. solstitialis''),

jenday conure The jandaya parakeet or jenday conure (''Aratinga jandaya'') is a small Neotropical parrot with green wings and tail, reddish-orange body, yellow head and neck, orange cheeks, and black bill, native to wooded habitats in northeastern Brazil. It ...

(''A. jandaya''), and golden-capped conure (''A. auricapilla''). Tavares ''et al.'' (2005) in a mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analysis of 29 species representing 25 of 30 genera of Neotropical parrots found the nanday conure's closest relative to be ''Aratinga solstitialis'', the sun conure, and the time of divergence of the species to have been 0.5 to 1.3 Mya. Hybrids of the nanday and sun conures, nanday and jenday conures, and nanday and blue-crowned conures are known. A prehistoric relative, '' Aratinga vorohuensis'', was described from

Late Pliocene Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

fossils found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Description

The nanday parakeet is long, weighs , and is mostly green in color. Its most distinguishing characteristic, for which it is named, is its black facial mask and beak. It also shows black, trailing flight feathers on its wings and has a long tail edged at the end in blue. The upper chest is bluish-green and the lower chest is a paler green. Feathers covering the thighs are red.

Distribution

The species is native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

from southeast

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

to southwest

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, central

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and northern

, from the region known as the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and p ...

. Caged birds have been released in some areas, and the birds have established self-sustaining populations in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, and several areas of Florida (including Pasco,

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

, Broward, Palm Beach and

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Counties).

Behavior

Food and feeding

The bird feeds on

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, palm nuts,

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, flowers, and buds.

Feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

birds also come to bird feeders. Wild birds primarily use scrub forest and forest clearings around settlements. They frequent open

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, pastures, and stockyards in South America, where they are considered as pests in some areas.

Breeding

Nanday parakeets usually find holes in trees to nest. Females lay three or four eggs. After raising their young, all birds form rather large communal roosts until the next breeding season.

Aviculture

The Nanday Parakeet is sometimes kept as a

companion parrot A companion parrot is a parrot kept as a pet that interacts abundantly with its human counterpart. Generally, most species of parrot can make excellent companions, but must be carefully managed around other common pet species like dogs and cats a ...

. It is a loud, energetic bird that requires much mental and social stimulation as well as significant time outside of its cage in order to thrive. It may not be a suitable pet for small children due to its powerful beak. When kept in captivity, it may learn to

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

and is also capable of learning tricks. The

World Parrot Trust The World Parrot Trust is an international charity dedicated to saving parrots. History When the Trust was founded in 1989 at Paradise Park in Cornwall, UK, it was decided that the main objective was to promote the survival of all parrot specie ...

recommends that the Nanday Parkeet be kept in an aviary of 2–3 metres in length. The longest verified lifespan for this species is 18.7 years - however, there are also reports of Nanday Parakeets living for 30.2 years in captivity. File:Nandayus nenday -pet -upper body-8a.jpg, Upper body File:NandayConure-Jack.jpg, Pet on a cage File:Nandayus nenday -sunflower seeds -Sarasota, USA -feral-8b.jpg, Feral parrots in

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL m ...

, Florida, United States

References

Bibliography

* "National Geographic" ''Field Guide to the Birds of North'' ''America'' *''Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4'', Josep del Hoyo editor, *"National Audubon Society" ''The Sibley Guide to Birds'', by David Allen Sibley,

External links

Nanday conure

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074973

nanday parakeet The nanday parakeet (''Aratinga nenday''), also known as the black-hooded parakeet or nanday conure, is a medium-small, mostly green, Neotropical parrot native to continental South America. Taxonomy The nanday parakeet was previously regarded as ...

Feral parrots Birds of the Pantanal