Scarlet-fronted Parakeet

Kolumbiasittich ( Aratinga wagleri )

The Kolumbiasittich ( Aratinga wagleri ) is a species of parrot from the genus of macaws ( Aratinga ).

Description

The Kolumbiasittich is up to 36 cm tall and can weigh 162-217 g, and it is mainly green with red forehead, chest and abdomen are yellowish. The under wing-coverts are green, the undersides of the wings and the underside of the tail olive to yellow. Some specimens have red spots on neck, chest, or bend of wing to the shins. To my eyes he is naked and white with a dull yellow or gray inner ring. The iris is reddish, the bill horn-colored and the legs brownish. Young birds have less red plumage that lacks red on wings and legs on the forehead.

Distribution, habitat and threat

Home he is in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical forests and riparian forests and scrublands and forests 350-3000 m above sea level. NN. It prefers low slopes of the northern Andes and is also occasionally in agricultural areas such as plantations and corn fields before. Due to the large area of ​​distribution type ( LC Least Concern ), despite seemingly decreasing stocks of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) as endangered not classified.

Lifestyle and diet

Most often they are found in groups of 20 to 200 birds, sometimes in flocks of up to 400 birds. They are very loud when they are flying in the evening to their sleeping trees on hills. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds, berries and nuts, which they mainly looking in the valleys, on trees. They can also be regarded as pests because they occasionally cause in fields of crop damage. There are seasonal migrations between different areas.

Reproduction

The breeding behavior is largely unknown. Breeding season in Venezuela from April to June in Colombia from December to June. They build their nests in columns of rock slopes and breed in colonies. From breeders to know that usually between 2 to 4 eggs are laid, which are incubated about 23 days. The fledging period is 50 days and after a further 2 to 3 weeks, the young birds are completely independent.

Subspecies

There are four subspecies:

• Aratinga wagleri wagleri - inhabits the western and northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
• Peru Parakeet, Aratinga wagleri frontata ( Cabanis, 1846) - inhabits western Peru and western Ecuador. Adults have a red forehead and around the eyes are also red, as are the legs and the edges of the wings. In general, this subspecies is larger.
• Venezuela Parakeet, Aratinga wagleri transilis JL Peters, 1927 - inhabited northern Venezuela and eastern Colombia. Adult birds are smaller and generally have a darker green in plumage, the skull shows a darker red
• Carriker 's Parakeet, Aratinga wagleri minor Carriker, 1933 - inhabited central and southern Peru. Adult birds are smaller and generally darker in color, but without bronze, yellowish shade. The thighs are pale red.