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Dusky-headed Parakeet
Aratinga weddellii
At a Glance
A medium-small parakeet from tropical South America, native to the western part of the Amazon Basin. Commonly kept as a cagebird, and escapees from activity are sometimes seen around cities in southern Florida and occasionally elsewhere.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds
Conservation
Low Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Urban and Suburban Habitats
Behavior
Direct Flight
Range & Identification
Description
11" (28 cm). Medium-sized parakeet with a long, pointed tail. Mostly green, yellower below, with a dusky gray head, white eye-ring, and black bill.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Robin
Wing Shape
Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Long, Pointed
Songs and Calls
A nasal "kee-craaah"
Habitat
Wooded habitats in the western Amazon Basin. It prefers semi-open habitats such as várzea ("flooded forests" in Portuguese, a low-lying, seasonally flooded region of the central Amazon), forest edges and forest remnants in open savannahs. It has also been found in coffee plantations.
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Behavior
Nesting
Typically in a tree or in arboreal termite nests with no additional nesting material. Female incubates two to six white eggs for 21-23 days.