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Posted by Bill Pranty on 13:15:34 04/05/08
In Reply to: Re: Parakeets 101 -- Help with ID? posted by Boyle
Hi Boyle,
You seem to be describing Blue-crowned Parakeets (Aratinga acuticaudata), which are fairly widespread in southern Florida's urban areas.
Unless you want to try to identify every _Aratinga_ or _Amazona_ that may be found outside of captivity, you don't need a specific parrot book.
The link below, for the California Parrot Project, is an excellent online resource for ID purposes -- and it's free.
It sounds like you don't own either the Sibley (2000) guide or the 5th edition of the National Geographic Guide (2006). IMHO, these are the two critical field guides for the continent (I prefer NGS over Sibley because it's much more compact and yet contains a much greater coverage of continental rarities) -- AND they contain all or nearly all the parrots you're likely to encounter, so you get a parrot guide for the same price as a guide to the rest of the birds to Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48.
Best regards,
Bill Pranty
Bayonet Point, Florida
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