Maroon-bellied Parakeet
The Maroon-bellied Parakeet (Pyrrhura frontalis) is a small parrot found from southeastern Brazil to north-eastern Argentina, including eastern Paraguay and Uruguay. It is also known as the Reddish-bellied Parakeet, and in aviculture it is usually referred to as the Maroon-bellied Conure, Reddish-bellied Conure or Brown-eared Conure.
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| Maroon-bellied Parakeet |
image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dariosanches/
It has been suggested that the Reddish-bellied Parakeet should include the Blaze-winged Parakeet (P. devillei) as a subspecies based on intermediate specimens from Paraguay. But such hybrids are not common in the wild and the two populations generally maintain their integrity; recent sources are undecided on whether to treat them as one species or two.
Description
These birds range from 25 to 28 cm (10–11 in), and are primarily green, with a maroon patch on the belly, a "scaly" yellow-green-barred breast and sides of neck, a whitish ear-patch often tinged brown, and a maroon undertail. The specific name frontalis is a reference to its dark maroon frontlet - a feature which separates it from most similar species. The primaries are blue on the outer webs, green on the inner webs, and dark on the tips. The beak is black.
