Nombre en español: Perico Frentiazul
Nombre en inglés: Blue-crowned Parakeet
Nombre científico: Thectocercus acuticaudatus
Familia: Psittacidae
El calancate común, perico de corona azul o aratinga cabeciazul (Thectocercus acuticaudatus) es el único miembro del género monotípico Thectocercus. Está ampliamente distribuido por Sudamérica, habitando desde el mar Caribe hasta el norte de la Patagonia argentina.
Descripción
Mide aproximadamente 37 cm de largo y pesa entre 140 y 190 g. Tienen desarrolladas las mismas particularidades comunes a los miembros del género Aratinga (en el cual estaba incluido hasta el año 2013), incluyendo plumaje verde, largas colas, anillos blancos oculares (perioftálmicos).
Son predominantemente verdes, con coloración azulada en parte de la cabeza, corona, mejillas, y orejas. Las plumas del pecho puede estar teñida de azul, pero es más común que sea verde a verde amarillento. Las plumas de la cola son verdes al final, marrones a rojo pardo en el envés. Sus patas son rosado pardas con uñas gris pardas. La mandíbula superioe es coloreada, con puntos grises negruzcos. Y la mandíbula inferior lo está en los jóvenes, llegando a gris negruzco al segundo año de vida. Algunas subespecies retienen la coloración inferior de la mandíbula hasta la adultez.Subespecies
Presenta numerosas subespecies. En Venezuela se encuentra la subespecie Thectocercus acuticaudatus neoxena(Cory 1909) que es un endemismo de la isla de Margarita. Thectocercus acuaticaudatus acuaticaudatus (Viellot 1818) Thectocercus acuaticaudatus haemorrhous (Spix 1824) Thectocercus acuaticaudatus koenigi(Arndt 1995) Thectocercus acuaticaudatus neumanni (Blake and Taylor 1947
Particularidades
El protagonista de la película Paulie es un ejemplar de esta especie de ave.
Principales amenazas
Es cazado para usarlo como mascota. Se calcula que anualmente se extrae el 80% de los pichones y los procedimientos de captura implican la muerte de varios de estos. Adicionalmente, el animal parece no ser muy resistente al cautiverio y muere con facilidad por la clíni inadecuado que recibe y el estrés generado durante su traslado.
Blue-crowned parakeet
The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (Thectocercus acuticaudatus) is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern Colombia in the north to northern Argentina in the south. They inhabit savanna-like habitats, woodland and forest margins, but avoid dense humid forest such as the Amazon.
This species is officially called a parakeet by the AOU and by birders, though usually called conures in aviculture.
Taxonomy
acuticaudatus is the only species in the monotypic genus Thectocercus
The blue-crowned parakeet has five subspecies:
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus (Vieillot 1818)
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus acuticaudatus (Vieillot 1818)
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus haemorrhous (Spix 1824)
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus koenigi (Arndt 1995)
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus neoxenus (Cory 1909)
- Thectocercus acuticaudatus neumanni (Blake and Traylor 1947)
Previously, this species was part of the genus Aratinga, but that genus was split in four distinct genera once various phylogenetic studies showed that the genus, as traditionally defined, was polyphyletic.
Description
The blue-crowned parakeet is a medium-sized bird measuring approximately 37 cm (14.5 in) in length and weighing between 140 and 190 g (4.9 and 6.7 oz).
Blue-crowns are born with red coloring around the head, but blue-crowns are predominantly green, with dull blue coloring on the forehead, crown, cheeks, and ears in the nominate, but less blue in other subspecies. It has a ring of white featherless skin around each eye, though this is bright orange-yellow in wild T. acuticaudata neumanni. The breast feathers may also be tinged with blue, though they are more commonly green to yellow-green. Closed wing coloring matches that of the body while extended wings show blue-brown, becoming chestnut on the outer flight feathers. The tail feathers are green on top, maroon to red-brown on the underside, iridescing to bright orange and scarlet under full-spectrum light. Legs are pink-brown with grey-brown claws. The upper mandible is horn-colored, tapering to a needle-sharp, grey-black tip. In the southern and western nominate and subspecies neumanni, the lower mandible is horn-colored in juveniles, fading to grey-black by the bird’s second year. The remaining eastern, central and northern subspecies retain the horn-colored lower mandible throughout adulthood.
Breeding
The blue-crowned parakeet’s nest is a hole in a tree. The eggs are white and there are usually three to four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for 26 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 52 days after hatching.
Aviculture
Blue-crowned parakeets are generally called blue-crowned conures in aviculture. They are social birds and are relatively good talkers compared to other conures. They have become quite popular as pets, with a reputation as one of the «easier» parrots to care for. However, they are also intelligent, high-energy birds that require a lot of attention and a cage with ample room and toys. They can also be quite loud at times. Consequently, they are more appropriate companions for serious bird enthusiasts rather than the casual birdkeeper.
Fuentes: Wikipedia/eBird/xeno-canto
