The yellow-chevroned parakeet (''Brotogeris chiriri'') is native to tropical
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
south of the
Amazon River basin from central
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
to southern
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 ...
,
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, and northern
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 ...
. Caged birds have been released in some areas, and the birds have established self-sustaining populations in the
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. This bird seems to be doing better in its North American feral population than the closely related
white-winged parakeet
The white-winged parakeet (''Brotogeris versicolurus''), or canary-winged parakeet is a small parrot
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are clas ...
. The species is also established in the downtown area of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, Brazil; and in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, Argentina; where it was introduced. The native population in South America continues to do well.
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
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...
with the white-winged parakeet until 1997. Wild birds primarily use disturbed forests and forest clearings around settlements. They rarely use deep tropical forests.
Diet
The bird feeds mostly on
seeds
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...
and
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
in its native habitat, and
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 som ...
populations have adapted to eat
blossoms
In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring.
Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as we ...
and
nectar
Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
. During dry periods, which often leads to fruit scarcity, the bird adapts by eating more seeds, particularly from the plant ''Erythrina dominguezii''. They also consume
Bombacaceae
Bombacaceae were long recognised as a family of flowering plants or Angiospermae. The family name was based on the type genus '' Bombax''. As is true for many botanical names, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic poi ...
trees, commonly known as silk cotton trees, which is the most popular food choice for the parakeet. These birds have been observed participating in
geophagia
Geophagia (), also known as geophagy (), is the intentional practice of consuming earth or soil-like substances such as clay, chalk, or termite mounds. It is a behavioural adaptation that occurs in many non-human animals and has been documented i ...
, the deliberate ingestion of soil, commonly in location of clay licks. Feral birds also come to bird feeders. Yellow-chevroned parakeets also consume arboreal
termite
Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...
nests, which are made of a mixture of clay and organic matter, as well as termite feces and saliva that acts as glue for the nest. The termite nests appear to provide more physiological benefits than ordinary ground soil, including macronutrients like
potassium
Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...
,
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...
, and
aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
, which may help with egg formation during the breeding season.
[Costa-Pereira, R., Severo-Neto, F., Inforzato, I., Laps, R. R., & Pizo, M. A. (2015). Nutrients drive termite nest geophagy in yellow-chevroned parakeets (brotogeris chiriri). The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 127(3), 506–510. https://doi.org/10.1676/14-142.1]
Breeding
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.
Gallery
File:Periquito-rico (Brotogeris tirica).jpg
File:Brotogeris chiriri -3-2cp.jpg
File:Brotogeris chiriri on Erythrina velutina (9606886301).jpg
File:Flickr - Dario Sanches - PERIQUITO-DE-ENCONTRO-AMARELO (Brotogeris chiriri ).jpg
File:Yellow Chevroned Parakeet (43647467525).jpg
File:Brotogeris chiriri on Erythrina velutina (9610118954).jpg
References
Further reading
* "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
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet videoson the Internet Bird Collection
VIREO
ttp://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Brotogeris+chiriri Photo-High Res--(Close-up)*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070612190142/http://chandra.as.utexas.edu/~kormendy/brazilss/YellowChevronParakeet1387ss.jpg Photo-High Resbr>
Articlechandra.as.utexas.edu
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1071745
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, ...
Birds of the Cerrado
Birds of the Pantanal
Birds of Brazil
Birds of Bolivia
Birds of Paraguay
Feral parrots
Parakeets
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, ...
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, ...