Brown-throated parakeet

Brown-throated parakeet
Eupsittula pertinax arubensis in Aruba
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Eupsittula
Species: E. pertinax
Binomial name
Eupsittula pertinax
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The brown-throated parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax), commonly known as the St Thomas conure or brown-throated conure in aviculture, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae.

Description

The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lowerparts being a lighter green than the upperparts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colours 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.

Distribution and habitat

It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub in northern South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, the ABC islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and northern Brazil (mainly the Rio Negro/Branco region) with a disjunct population in south-western Pará. Another disjunct population is found in southern Central America in Panama 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 (where now possibly extirpated), the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name Saint Thomas Conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles (at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique and Guadeloupe).

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies which have varying colours particularly of the crown, face and underparts.

Eupsittula pertinax (Linnaeus, 1758):[2]

Eupsittula pertinax xanthogenia on the island of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
Eupsittula pertinax venezuelae; a pet in Cagua, Aragua, Venezuela
Eupsittula pertinax aeruginosa in the Caribbean Region of Colombia
Eupsittula pertinax ocularis; a juvenile kept as a pet in Panama
A pet parrot

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Aratinga pertinax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 9.013)". www.zoonomen.net. 2008-12-29.


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