About Aratinga taxonomy

Two Red-throated Parakeets - Aratinga holochlora rubritorquis (left) and one Pacific Parakeet - Aratinga strenua

In the previous post, I mentioned some taxonomic confusion regarding the Aratinga parakeets in Central America. Having researched this a little further, I've found that there are two schools of thought regarding Aratinga taxonomy.

In the end, however, the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) taxonomy is authoritative, and will be explained here. To avoid confusion, I'll leave the alternative taxonomy, used by BirdLife International for example, undescribed.

According to the AOU, the 'green' parakeet found on the Pacific Slope of Central America from southeastern Oaxaca and Chiapas south to southwestern Nicaragua is Aratinga strenua, the Pacific Parakeet. Last Saturday, we counted a large roost of this species in San Salvador.

The 'red-throated' parakeet we counted in much lower numbers Saturday is Aratinga holochlora rubritorquis, or 'Red-throated' Green Parakeet. Note that according to the AOU, red-throated birds are a form or subspecies - rubritorquis - of the Green Parakeet, Aratinga holochlora. This subspecies is found in central and eastern Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and northern Nicaragua.

The field of taxonomy is in a state of flux, and at any given time will reflect then current insights into relationships between populations. The current AOU check-list can be found here.

Parakeet roost count

Pacific Parakeets

Last Saturday, I and other members of the Salvadoran branch of Partners in Flight, a local association of bird observers and bird conservationists, counted the parakeets roosting on the grounds of the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeon Cañas ("UCA") in Antiguo Cuscatlán, a neighborhood in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.

This roost is visited primarily by two Aratinga species - Pacific Parakeet and Red-throated Parakeet. The former roosts there in the hundreds and hundreds, while the latter is usually encountered as scattered individuals here and there for a total of 10-20 birds. Because the two species are very similar and difficult to distinguish in flight, it is likely that the actual number of Red-throated Parakeets roosting there is a little higher, several tens perhaps.

Red-throated Parakeets

Our count Saturday reached 1,150 Green Parakeets, among which we were able to find at least 12 Red-throated Parakeets. Simultaneously, other observers covered areas nearby, where in the past these parakeets have also roosted. However, it turned out that those roosts were not currently used and that all birds congregated in the main roost in the UCA.

A guard at the UCA told us that he has seen larger species - parrots - among the parakeets. We did not detect any Amazona parrots using the roost, although we did see two pairs of Amazona sp. fly high over the roost a little after 6 PM, when most parakeets had already arrived at our roost. When we arrived at the roost site, we saw a pair of Orange-chinned Parakeets, a much smaller species that does not roost in large groups, but is commonly found throughout the city.

Red-throated Parakeets grooming each other

Within the cacophony of the roost at large, most parakeets are paired off and can be seen perched in duos grooming each other, a very romantic sight.

As I said in the previous post, count results will be shared with parrot researchers at the universities of Leiden and Heidelberg.

Note that taxonomy of the Aratinga genus is still somewhat unclear - at least to me. Some sources consider strenua to be a subspecies of Aratinga holochlora (Green Parakeet), others claim it's a species in its own right (Pacific Parakeet). Some consider Aratinga rubritorquis (Red-throated Parakeet) to be its own species, others claim it is a subspecies of Aratinga holochlora.

Pacific Parakeets

Pacific Parakeets roosting in San Salvador

I've written before about the Pacific Parakeet roost in Antiguo Cuscatlán, a neighborhood of San Salvador. Later today, Saturday 29 January, me and other birders in El Salvador are going to count the parakeets that use this roost as part of a World Parrot Count, organized by two parrot researchers from the University of Leiden (The Netherlands) and Heidelberg (Germany).

When I stumbled upon their web site, I immediately thought about the Antiguo Cuscatlán roost and how I and others could participate in this initiative. I suggested this to the local club of bird observers in El Salvador, and many people responded with enthusiasm. The ministry of environmental affairs even put out a press release, resulting in some press coverage (and more press coverage here and here)!

Several hundreds of parakeets roost here, the vast majority Pacific Parakeets, often with some Red-throated Parakeets mixed in. Roselvy and I were there a few weeks ago and saw at least 12 Red-throated Parakeets, thinking there were probably more. I hope to be able to share the results of our count here in this blog tomorrow.

Pacific Parakeets

Today a picture of two Pacific Parakeets, a species that roosts in large numbers near to where I'm currently staying, in Antiguo Cuscatlán, a neighborhood of San Salvador. Every evening, these birds gather here in the hundreds to roost in eucalyptus trees surrounding a baseball field.

With careful scanning, it is possible to find a few Red-throated Parakeets among them, like the bird center left.