The Life of Animals | Sun Parakeet | The Sun Parakeet or Sun Conure (Aratinga solstitialis) 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. The species is endangered, threatened by loss of habitat and trapping for the pet trade. On average, Sun Parakeets weigh approximately 110 g (4 oz) and are around 30 cm (12 in) long.
Adults have a rich yellow crown, nape, mantle, lesser wing-coverts, tips of the greater wing-coverts, chest, and underwing-coverts. 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. 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 Sun Parakeet wass one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae As Linnaeus did with many of the parrots he described, he placed this species in the genus Psittacus, but it has since been moved to the widely accepted Aratinga, which contains a number of similar New World species, while Psittacus is now restricted to the type species, the African Grey Parrot.
The Sun Parakeet is monotypic, but the Aratinga solstitialis complex includes three additional species from Brazil: Jandaya Parakeet, Golden-capped Parakeet, and Sulphur-breasted Parakeet. These have all been considered subspecies of the Sun Parakeet, but most recent authorities maintain their status as separate species. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Sun Parakeet and the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet represent one species, while the Jenday Parakeet and Golden-capped Parakeet represent a second. Of these, the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet only received widespread recognition in 2005, having gone unnoticed at least partially due to its resemblance to certain pre-adult plumages of the Sun Parakeet. The Sun, Jandaya, and Golden-capped Parakeets will all interbreed in captivity (it is likely, but unconfirmed, that the Sulphur-breasted also will interbreed with these).
As far as known, the remaining taxa are entirely allopatric, although it is possible that the Sun Parakeet and the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet come into contact in the southern Guianas, where some doubts exists over the exact identity Its exact ecological requirements remain relatively poorly known. Like other members of the genus Aratinga, the Sun Parakeet is social and typically occurs in groups of up to 30 individuals. 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. 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. Today it is regularly bred in captivity, but the capture of wild individuals potentially remains a very serious threat. The Sun Parakeet is noted for its very loud squawking compared to its relatively small size. Sun Parakeets are popular as pets because of their bright coloration though they have a very limited ability to talk.
Adults have a rich yellow crown, nape, mantle, lesser wing-coverts, tips of the greater wing-coverts, chest, and underwing-coverts. 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. 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 Sun Parakeet wass one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae As Linnaeus did with many of the parrots he described, he placed this species in the genus Psittacus, but it has since been moved to the widely accepted Aratinga, which contains a number of similar New World species, while Psittacus is now restricted to the type species, the African Grey Parrot.
The Sun Parakeet is monotypic, but the Aratinga solstitialis complex includes three additional species from Brazil: Jandaya Parakeet, Golden-capped Parakeet, and Sulphur-breasted Parakeet. These have all been considered subspecies of the Sun Parakeet, but most recent authorities maintain their status as separate species. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Sun Parakeet and the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet represent one species, while the Jenday Parakeet and Golden-capped Parakeet represent a second. Of these, the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet only received widespread recognition in 2005, having gone unnoticed at least partially due to its resemblance to certain pre-adult plumages of the Sun Parakeet. The Sun, Jandaya, and Golden-capped Parakeets will all interbreed in captivity (it is likely, but unconfirmed, that the Sulphur-breasted also will interbreed with these).
As far as known, the remaining taxa are entirely allopatric, although it is possible that the Sun Parakeet and the Sulphur-breasted Parakeet come into contact in the southern Guianas, where some doubts exists over the exact identity Its exact ecological requirements remain relatively poorly known. Like other members of the genus Aratinga, the Sun Parakeet is social and typically occurs in groups of up to 30 individuals. 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. 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. Today it is regularly bred in captivity, but the capture of wild individuals potentially remains a very serious threat. The Sun Parakeet is noted for its very loud squawking compared to its relatively small size. Sun Parakeets are popular as pets because of their bright coloration though they have a very limited ability to talk.
