Yellow-chevroned parakeet

The yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri) is native to tropical South America south of the Amazon River basin from central Brazil to southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Caged birds have been released in some areas, and the birds have established self-sustaining populations in the Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. This bird seems to be doing better in its North American feral population than the closely related white-winged parakeet. The species is also established in the downtown area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where it was introduced. The native population in South America continues to do well.

Yellow-chevroned parakeet
In Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Brotogeris
Species:
B. chiriri
Binomial name
Brotogeris chiriri
(Vieillot, 1818)

Description

The bird is 20–25 cm in length, and is mostly light green in color. It has a trailing yellow edge on its folded wings, which is also seen when the bird is in flight. It was considered conspecific with the white-winged parakeet until 1997.

Diet

The bird feeds mostly on seeds and fruit in its native habitat, and feral populations have adapted to take in blossoms and nectar. Feral birds also come to bird feeders. Wild birds primarily use disturbed forest and forest clearings around settlements. They rarely use deep tropical forest.

Yellow-chevroned parakeets usually find holes in trees for nesting. They also form nesting tunnels in dead palm fronds. The female lays four to five eggs. After raising their young, all birds form rather large communal roosts until the next breeding season.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Brotogeris chiriri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
  • Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-22-9
  • "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6


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