- Aratinga solstitialis
Identification
Adult: 30 cm (11¾ in)
Bill black, legs grey, eyes brown surrounded by bare orbital skin that is bluish-grey. Mostly rich yellow, with orange especially on sides of head, front, and belly but sometimes even to the throat. The upperside of the tail is yellowish-green, and the greater wing-coverts constitute a band of green and yellow on the sitting bird. Upperside of flight feathers are greenish and bluish, underside of same grey.
Juvenile differs in having green mantle and back, yellow with green streaks on crown and nape, yellow on rest of body less warm and orange patches less prominent.
Similar species
Jandaya Parakeet, Sulphur-breasted Parakeet and Golden Parakeet
Distribution
South America: Northern Brazil (north of Rio Amazon, probably limited to Roraima), southern Guyana, extreme southern Suriname and accidental in coastal French Guiana. May occur by Santa Elena in Venezuela.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
It formerly included Sulphur-breasted Parakeet as a subspecies.
Habitat
Savanna and coastal forests.
Behaviour
This species is described as relatively tame, flying over towns, nesting next to a road, and visiting orchards.
Breeding
It nests in palm cavities or hollows in trees. There is little additional information, except a nest was observed with 4 eggs, and incubation was managed by the female alone.
Diet
Includes fruits, flowers, berries, seeds and nuts.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum thread discussing the scientific name of Sulphur-breasted Parakeet
- Ber van Perlo. 2009. A field guide to the Birds of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7
- Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sun Parakeet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sun_Parakeet
