Eupsittula Pertinax

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

Taxonomy

The brown-throated parakeet was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus ''Psittacus'' and coined the binomial name ''Psittacus pertinax''. The brown-throated parakeet is now one of five species placed in the genus ''Eupsittula'' that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''eu'' meaning "good" with the Modern Latin ''psittula'' meaning "little parrot". The specific epithet ''pertinax'' is Latin meaning "tenacious" or "persistent".

Fourteen subspecies are recognised, some of which are island endemics. They have varying colours particularly of the crown, face and underparts.
* ''E. p. ocularis'' ( Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1865) – Panama
* ''E. p. aeruginosa'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – north Colombia and northwest Venezuela
* ''E. p. griseipecta'' ( Meyer de Schauensee, 1950) – Sinú Valley, northeast Colombia; likely extinct
* ''E. p. lehmanni'' ( Dugand, 1943) – east Colombia
* ''E. p. arubensis'' ( Hartert, E, 1892) – Aruba (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. pertinax'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. xanthogenia'' ( Bonaparte, 1850) – Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''E. p. tortugensis'' ( Cory, 1909) – La Tortuga Island (off north Venezuela)
* ''E. p. margaritensis'' Cory, 1918 – Margarita Island (off north Venezuela)
* ''E. p. venezuelae'' ( Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1951) – north, central Venezuela
* ''E. p. surinama'' (Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1951) – northeast Venezuela through the north Guianas
* ''E. p. chrysophrys'' ( Swainson, 1838) – southeast Venezuela, central, southwest Guiana and adjacent Brazil
* ''E. p. chrysogenys'' ( Massena & Souancé, 1854) – northwest Brazil
* ''E. p. paraensis'' ( Sick, 1959) – north-central Brazil

Description

The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lower parts being a lighter green than the upper parts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colors 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. It is not to be confused with the similarly named extinct brown-headed parakeet of Raiatea in the Society Islands (Tahiti and its neighbors), more commonly known as the Society parakeet. This species of parakeet predominantly eat seeds (such as ''Acacia'' and '' Cassia'') and forage for them in small groups. They also feed on fruits (such as ''Mangifera''), nuts, blossoms and occasionally insects. They utter loud calls while flying through the habitat, foraging groups either respond or stay silent. If the foraging group responds, groups flying above may join the foraging group or carry on.

Distribution and habitat

It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub throughout northern South America and the southeastern Caribbean in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Trinidad and Tobago, 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), Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name St. Thomas conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles (at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique and Guadeloupe).

References

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074965

brown-throated parakeet
Birds of the Caribbean
Birds of Panama
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Venezuela
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of the Guianas
Birds of the Netherlands Antilles
Birds of the Amazon Basin
brown-throated parakeet
brown-throated parakeet
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot