[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Bill Pranty on 12:32:20 04/04/08
In Reply to: Parakeets 101 posted by Trey Mitchell
This is a great exercise made possible by excellent photographs. I don't think that most readers of this list realize the magnitude of the problems (dare I say impossibilities?) posed by the various _Aratinga_ parakeets roaming around in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
The quiz starts and ends with 3-4 "easy" birds each and then falls into the _Aratainga_ mess.
All of the "blanks" below I'm calling _Aratinga_ sp. and leaving it at that. I'm not identifying any psittacid as a hybrid, but honestly, how would you know? What would a Green x White-eyed, or a Red-masked x Mitred, or a Scarlet-fronted x Finsch's hybrid look like? And our knowledge of sub-adult plumages is probably poor; no North American field guide even attempts to illustrate non-adults. Like I said, it's a great exercise.
For "fun," I took the quiz twice, and came up with different answers in many cases! I wonder whether there are any Finsch's (Crimson-fronted ) Parakeets in the photos, but I couldn't find any that to me looked "good" -- I have no experience with that bird (and there are no photos or specimens known to me). And there may be a White-eyed Paraket or two lurking somewhere, but I wouldn't want to identify that bird without a view of the underwings.
All of the names below are AOU-sanctioned, with a few other English names used for _Aratinga_.
1. Blue-and-yellow Macaw
2. White-winged Parakeet
3. Monk parakeet
4. ditto
5. looks like an immature of some _Aratinga_
6.
7.
8.
9. immature Red-masked Parakeet (?)
10. Mitred Parakeet
11. ditto
12.
13. Scarlet-fronted (Red-fronted, Wagler's) Parakeet (?)
14. Scarlet-fronted Parakeet (imm and adult)?
15.
16.
17. Scarlet-fronted Parakeet
18. Scarlet-fronted Parakeet
19. Green Parakeet
20. Mitred (left) and Green (right) parakeets
21. Festive Parrot (?) -- if so, the photo represents the first verifiale record for Florida, to my knowledge.
22. Chestnut-fronted Macaw
23. Lilac-crowned Parrot
24. White-fronted Parrot
25. Red-masked Parakeet
Best regards,
Bill Pranty
Bayonet Point, Florida
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]