Sun parakeet

Aratinga solstitialis

The Sun Parakeet or Sun Conure is a medium-sized brightly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with predominantly golden-yellow plumage and orange-flushed underparts and face.
Sun Conure - Aratinga solstitialis  Aratinga solstitialis,France,Geotagged,Sun parakeet

Appearance

On average, Sun Parakeets weigh approximately 110 g and are around 30 cm long. They are sexually monomorphic.

Adults have a rich yellow crown, nape, mantle, lesser wing-coverts, tips of the greater wing-coverts, chest, and underwing-coverts.

The face and belly are orange with red around the ears. The base of the greater wing-coverts, tertials, and base of the primaries are green, while the secondaries, tips of the primaries, and most of the primary coverts are dark blue.

The tail is olive-green with a blue tip. From below, all the flight feathers are dark greyish. The bill is black. The legs and the bare eye-ring are grey, but the latter often fades to white in captivity.

It is easily confused with the closely related Jandaya Parakeet and Sulphur-breasted Parakeet, but the former has entirely green wing-coverts, mantle and vent, while the latter has green mottling to the mantle and less orange to the underparts. The Sun Parakeet is also superficially similar to the pale-billed Golden Parakeet.

Juvenile Sun Parakeets display a predominantly green plumage and resemble similar-aged Sulphur-breasted Parakeets. The distinctive yellow, orange, and reddish colouration on the back, abdomen, and head is attained with maturity.
Sun Parakeet to cheer up the world  Aratinga solstitialis,Geotagged,Papegaaienpark VeldHoven,Parrot Park Veldhoven,Sun Parakeet,The Netherlands,birds

Distribution

The Sun Parakeet occurs only in a relatively small region of north-eastern South America: the north Brazilian state of Roraima, southern Guyana, extreme southern Suriname, and southern French Guiana. It also occurs as a vagrant to coastal French Guiana. Its status in Venezuela is unclear, but there are recent sightings from the south-east near Santa Elena de Uairén. It may occur in Amapá or far northern Pará , but this remains to be confirmed. Populations found along the Amazon River in Brazil are now known to belong to the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet.
Sun conure - Aratinga solstitialis Seen in Pairi Daiza, Aug 2014.
 Aratinga solstitialis,Belgium,Geotagged,Summer,Sun parakeet

Status

The species is endangered, threatened by loss of habitat and trapping for the pet trade.
Sun Conure (pair)  Aratinga solstitialis,Sun Parakeet

Behavior

Its exact ecological requirements remain relatively poorly known. It is widely reported as occurring in savanna and coastal forests, but recent sightings suggest it mainly occurs at the edge of humid forest growing in foothills in the Guiana Shield, and crosses more open habitats only when traveling between patches of forest.

Like other members of the genus ''Aratinga'', the Sun Parakeet is social and typically occurs in groups of up to 30 individuals. It has been reported as nesting in palm cavities. It mainly feeds on fruits, flowers, berries, nuts, and the like. Otherwise, relatively little is known about its behavior in the wild, in part due to confusion over what information refers to the Sun Parakeet and what refers to the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet. Regardless, the behavior of the two is unlikely to differ to any great extent.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPsittaciformes
FamilyPsittacidae
GenusAratinga
SpeciesA. solstitialis