The mitred parakeet (''Psittacara mitratus''), also known as the mitred conure in

aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds, especially of wild birds in captivity. Aviculture Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (class '' Aves'') in captivity in controlled conditions, normally within the confines of a ...

, is a species of bird in subfamily

Arinae The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South America, South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familia ...

of the family

Psittacidae The Family (biology), family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the 12 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Afrotropics, Afrotropical parrots) and 167 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or ...

, the African and New World parrots. It is native to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It has been introduced to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and is established there.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023 There are also substantial populations in the US states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and smaller numbers in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The mitred parakeet was for a time 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 i ...

'' but from about 2013 has been in its present genus ''Psittacara''. Its taxonomy is otherwise unsettled. The

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology. It links basic and applied research and nurtures education and outreach activities. Specifically, the IOU organizes and funds global co ...

(IOC) recognizes these three subspecies: *''P. m. chlorogenys'' (Arndt, 2006) *''P. m. mitratus'' ( Tschudi, 1844) *''P. m. tucumanus'' (Arndt, 2006) The

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

(AOS) and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

recognize a fourth subspecies, ''P. m. alticola'' ("Chapman's parakeet"), that Arndt (2006) had suggested as a separate species.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022 Agnolin (2009) called into question the validity of ''P. m. tucumanus'', and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

's ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

'' (HBW) does not recognize it or ''P. m. alticola'', assigning only ''P. m. chlorogenys'' and ''P. m. mitratus'' to the mitred parakeet.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 Arndt (2006) also suggested that another full species, ''P. hockingi'' ("Hocking's parakeet"), exists within the mitred parakeet. The IOC, AOS, Clements, and HBW have not accepted this taxon as either a species or subspecies. This article follows the three-subspecies model.

Description

The mitred parakeet is long and weighs . The sexes are alike. Adults of all subspecies are mostly green with a purplish forehead and a variable amount and pattern of red on the face. All subspecies have a red forecrown and red in front of their eye. The red usually extends past the eye and down the cheeks, and is often just flecks on the ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

. Subspecies ''P. m. chlorogenys'' has less red around and below the eye than the others, often a blue tinge on the crown, and some red on the thighs. Some individuals of all subspecies have a small amount of red at the bend of the wing. Their eye is surrounded by bare white skin and their bill is horn colored. Juveniles have little or no red.Collar, N., P. F. D. Boesman, C. J. Sharpe, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Mitred Parakeet (''Psittacara mitratus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.mitpar.01 retrieved April 7, 2023Juniper, T., & M. Parr. 1998. ''A Guide to the Parrots of the World.''. Pica Press. The differences in plumage coloration noted in the field and in specimens are possibly due to erroneous age assignments, and might also be clinal.

Distribution and habitat

The

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

''P. m. mitratus'' of the mitred parakeet is found from the departments of

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...

and

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

in Peru south through Bolivia into northwestern Argentina as far as Córdoba Province. Subspecies ''P. m. chlorogenys'' is found on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes between Amazonas and Junín departments. ''P. m. tucumanus'' is found in the Argentinian provinces of Córdoba and Tucumán. The mitred parakeet has been introduced to

and is established there. Populations in California, Florida, and Hawaii are apparently derived from escaped or released cage birds. California's official list does not include the species but the other two states' lists do. In their native range mitred parakeets inhabit a variety of landscapes, most of them forested. These include both evergreen and deciduous

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

, and semi-humid to humid scrub areas in otherwise arid zones. In elevation subspecies ''P. m. chlorogenys'' ranges from . The other two subspecies occur in the wider elevational range of with one reported sighting at in Peru.Fjeldså, J., & N. Krabbe. 1990. ''Birds of the High Andes.'' Zoological Museum, Copenhagen. The introduced populations in California and Florida mostly occur in suburban and urban areasGarrett, K. L. 1997. ''Population Status and Distribution of Naturalized Parrots in Southern California.'' Western Birds 28: 181–195 while those in Hawaii occur in both populated and unpopulated areas.

Behavior

Movement

The mitred parakeet makes some movements in response to food availability and also apparently roams outside the breeding season. Flocks of up to 2000 have been reported though those of about 100 individuals are more common.Arndt, T. 1997. ''Lexicon of Parrots''. Arndt Verlag.

Feeding

The mitred parakeet's diet in its native range has not been fully described but is known to include berries and other fruits, seeds, nuts, and

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

. In California the species has been observed feeding on fruits and flowers. In south Florida it has been documented feeding on 34 species of plants, both native and introduced.

Breeding

In its native range the mitred parakeet nests in tree cavities and on cliffs. Its clutch size in the wild is two to three eggs. In Florida it nests almost exclusively on human structures and in Hawaii has nested on sea cliffs.

Vocalization

The mitred parakeet is very vocal, especially in flight with "a continuous loud screeching chatter". It also makes nasal " ueaky notes and screeches".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the mitred parakeet as being of Least Concern in its native range. It has a large range and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. Though it was formerly heavily captured for the cage bird bird trade, as of 2018 no immediate threats have been identified. It is considered generally common and locally abundant and occurs in several protected areas. The population of mitred parakeet in California was estimated at 1000 individuals in 2002.Mabb, K. T. 2002. ''Naturalized (wild) parrots in California; a current assessment,'' 2002, in Sympos. Proceed. the Gabriel Foundation 2002. February 7–10, San Diego, CA That in south Florida has been increasing since at least 2004 and by 2019 had reached at least 400. The population in Hawaii had reached about 200 by 2003; lethal control measures reduced the population to about 30 in 2012. Occasional sightings at widespread sites have continued into the 2020s.

Aviculture

The subspecies seen in American aviculture is ''Psittacara m. mitrata'' (though this is labelled with some uncertainty considering the recent developments in the taxonomy). Popular as pets, the mitred parakeets are considered outgoing and playful. They are even used as " watch birds", given their loud, piercing alarm call. Like most

parrots Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

, they tend to be devoted to their human owners. They have been known to grow attached to groups rather than individuals. They make great pets for people who will devote their time and money and will understand the birds natural behaviors; screaming, biting, splashing, etc.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074997 mitred parakeet mitred parakeet Birds of the Puna grassland Birds of the Yungas mitred parakeet Parakeets Taxonomy articles created by Polbot