Maroon-tailed Parakeet (Pyrrhura melanura)

Identification & Behavior: ~23.5 cm (9.2 in). The Maroon-tailed Parakeet has a dark-green forehead and crown, green sides of the head, and conspicuous pale orbital skin. The throat and sides of the neck are scaled with whitish. The bill is dusky. The tail is maroon. It has red areas on the leading edges of the wings. It is very similar to the Rock (Black-capped) Parakeet, but their ranges do not overlap. It does not have a red patch in the belly.

Status: The Maroon-tailed Parakeet is rare to uncommon on the north side of the Amazon and lower Marañon Rivers. It crosses the Marañon River along the foothill of the Andes where it ranges up to 1300 m. It also occurs in Co, Ec, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Perico de Cola Marrón.

Sub-species: Maroon-tailed Parakeet (Pyrrhura melanura melanura), Spix, 1824. NW Brazil (E to R Negro) to SE Colombia, E Ecuador and NE Peru.
(P. m. berlepschi), Salvadori, 1891.  Locally on E slope of Andes in SE Ecuador (Morona-Santiago) and N Peru (S to Huallaga Valley).

Meaning of Name: Pyrrhura: Gr. purhos= flame colored, red. Ouros= tailed. melanura: melas= black and oura= tail.

See more of the Family Psittacidae