Golden-capped Parakeet

Gold crown Conure ( Aratinga auricapilla )

The gold crown Conure ( Aratinga auricapilla ) is an endemic living in Brazil parrot from the genus of macaws ( Aratinga ).

Description

The gold crown parakeet has a body length of 30 cm, the tail length is 13-15 cm. The top is colored predominantly green. The chin and throat are yellowish - green and proceed to the upper part of the chest in a greenish- orange, the abdomen is red. At the front, the reins and around the eyes, the color is bright red, the top of the head is yellow. The back feathers and the upper rump are variable fringed red or orange.

The large upper wing-coverts, the secondaries and outer webs and tips of the primaries are blue, the under wing-coverts orange - red, the undersides of the wings gray. The coverts of the gold crown parakeet are green, the upper tail feathers brownish with blue lace. Sometimes the outer webs of the outer tail feathers are blue. The lower tail feathers are gray.

Its beak is black gray. He has gray, featherless eye circles, the iris is yellowish. The legs have a grayish color. Males and females alike. When the young birds, the yellow of the top of the head is paler than in adult animals. The red rump is low or missing. The breast is greenish and has no orange tint on. The red area on the stomach is smaller.

Distribution and habitat

The gold crown Parakeet is common in the mountain country in South East Brazil. In the states of São Paulo and Paraná, the species is apparently not to be found only in the eastern rain forests, in Espírito Santo. In Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina it is very rare or extinct. In Goiás, Minas Gerais and Bahia it is still locally common.

The natural habitat of the gold crown parakeet is the wet Atlantic coastal forest and transitional forests inland. It is largely dependent on semi- evergreen primary forest, foraging and breeding activities, but he also goes along forest edges, in secondary forests, agricultural land and even in cities after. It occurs at altitudes of up to 2180m.

Way of life

Gold crown parakeets are gregäre animals and generally form groups of 12-20, rarely up to 40 birds. They feed on seeds and fruits as well as crops such as corn, okra and various sweet, soft fruits such as mango, papaya and oranges. The species was in some parts of Brazil as an agricultural pest, before its holdings in these regions declined sharply. Little is known about the reproduction in the wild, the breeding season is probably November-December.

Endangering

The destruction of habitat and trapping for trade had this kind seriously clogged, so it was classified as potentially at risk. In the red list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) is the type now under threat on low, early warning (NT - Near Threatened ) downgraded (2008 ), as the standard small population in some areas due to the loss of habitat, although falling, the way but seems relatively well to cope with the changes in their habitat.

The gold crown parakeet is in Endangered Species Convention ( CITES) in Appendix II and in EC Regulation 709/2010 [ EC ] listed in Appendix B and specially protected under the Federal Nature Conservation Act [ BG ] (Status :: b).

Subspecies

There are two subspecies. Animals from Südbahia mostly belong to transitional forms between the two subspecies.

• Aratinga auricapilla aurifrons Spix, 1824, Gold Cap Conure - Southern Goiás and Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina from. The breast of this subspecies is green, the orange color of the nominate form does not exist. The top is completely green, the red feather edges missing at the back and on the upper rump.