White-winged Parakeet

Overview

White-winged Parakeet: A medium-sized parakeet, green overall with yellow-and-white wing patches, and pale, teardrop-shaped eye-ring. The green tail is long and pointed. Hooked bill varies in color from yellow-pink to olive-brown. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

White-winged Parakeet: Native of South America but introduced to California and Florida in 1960’s and 1970’s, where feral populations became established from released and escaped birds. Populations are declining slowly and today only a few individuals occur in California and Miami. Found in urban and suburban areas including parklands with tropical plantings.

INTERESTING FACTS

The White-winged Parakeet frequently escapes from cages and can be seen in many large cities.
However, the only successful nestings have occurred in California and Florida.
As do other exotics, these birds carry diseases to which native species have not developed immunity.
A group of parakeets is collectively known as a "chatter" and a "flock" of parakeets.

The White-winged Parakeet has a large range reaching up to around 640,000 square kilometers. This bird can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Puerto Rico and Suriname. This species also has a vagrant population in the United States as well. This bird tends to appear in forested areas or in areas of some deforestation. The global population of this species has not been quantified, but it is referred to as “common” in portions of its range. Due to this, population trends for the White-winged Parakeet have a present evaluation level of Least Concern.