Birdfinding.info ⇒ Generally common and easy to find across most of its range, especially on the coastal plain from Nayarit to Guanacaste. Thrives in the lightly settled, mixed agricultural zones that predominate along the Pacific Coast of Middle America. On Puerto Rico, often seen in the lower parts of El Yunque National Forest.
Orange-fronted Parakeet
Eupsittula canicularis
Pacific slope of Middle America; introduced to Puerto Rico.
Occupies a wide array of semiopen habitats, from arid to humid, including open woodlands, savannas, mangroves, and agricultural areas. Tolerant of development.
Mainly in coastal lowlands from central Sinaloa to central Costa Rica. Occurs at lower densities or sporadically in valleys and foothills far into the interior, in drier parts of the Caribbean slope, north to northern Sinaloa, and south to southern Costa Rica.
Introduced to Puerto Rico by the 1980s, and well established in the northeast from San Juan to Fajardo.
Identification
Green overall, with yellowish underparts, an olive throat, and colorful head: orange forehead, blue crown, and wide yellow eyering.
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Guanacaste, Costa Rica; December 29, 2018.) © Richard Garrigues
Orange-fronted Parakeet, dorsal view showing distribution of orange and blue on the crown. (San Dimas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica; December 29, 2018.) © David Garrigues
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico; February 9, 2016.) © Tim J. Hopwood
The upperside of the flight feathers is mostly blue. In flight, the underside of the wings appears mostly yellow.
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Colima, Mexico; January 24, 2016.) © Luis Casado
Orange-fronted Parakeet, showing underwing pattern. (Tecuitata, Nayarit, Mexico; March 12, 2019.) © Susan Mac
Notes
Polytypic species consisting of three recognized subspecies.
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable.
Additional Photos of Orange-fronted Parakeet
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Guanacaste, Costa Rica; December 29, 2018.) © Richard Garrigues
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Guanacaste, Costa Rica; March 17, 2013.) © Hank Davis
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Guanacaste, Costa Rica; March 17, 2013.) © Hank Davis
Orange-fronted Parakeet, showing a small orange forehead patch. (Selva El Tuito, Jalisco, Mexico; March 18, 2017.) © Suzanne Labbé
Orange-fronted Parakeet. (Camino Finca Hard, Puntarenas, Costa Rica; October 6, 2018.) © Leandro Arias
References
BirdLife International. 2020. Eupsittula canicularis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T22685739A182075618. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22685739A182075618.en. (Accessed January 8, 2022.)
eBird. 2022. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed January 8, 2022.)
Fagan, J., and O. Komar. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of Northern Central America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York.
Forshaw, J.M. 2010. Parrots of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Garrigues, R., and R. Dean. 2014. The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide (Second Edition). Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.
Howell, S.N.G., and S. Webb. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Juniper, T., and M. Parr. 1998. Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World. Yale University Press.
Raffaele, H. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Xeno-Canto. 2022. Orange-fronted Parakeet – Eupsittula canicularis. https://xeno-canto.org/species/Eupsittula-canicularis. (Accessed January 8, 2022.)