Aratinga
The Aratinga genus includes six medium sized (24-38 cm) parrots with an overall green or yellow plumage and a long wedge-shaped tail. In aviculture they are also known as Conures - a term that includes several genera.
They can be very noisy and may not be the best pet parrot if you are living in an apartment. They are however easy to breed and also make for a good pet parrot.
The Aratinga parrots are not sensible to low temperature.
Until 2013 the Aratinga genus included several other species but recent DNA studies resulted in some species being reclassified to Psittacara, Thectocercus and Eupsittula. For more information see this article by Remsen et al: DNA-sequence data require revision of the parrot genus Aratinga (Aves: Psittacidae)
Aratinga auricapillus
Golden-capped Parakeet
Aratinga jandaya
Jandaya Parakeet
Aratinga maculata
Sulphur-breasted Parakeet
Aratinga nenday
Nanday Parakeet
Aratinga solstitialis
Sun Parakeet
Aratinga weddellii
Dusky-headed Parakeet
Photo credits:
- Golden-capped Parakeet : Jann Otto Nielsen
- Nanday Parakeet : Sergio Gregorio
- Dusky-headed Parakeet : David Long
Species & Subspecies
- Aratinga auricapillus (Kuhl, 1820) - Golden-capped Parakeet
- Aratinga auricapillus auricapillus (Kuhl, 1820)
- Aratinga auricapillus aurifrons (von Spix, 1824)
- Aratinga jandaya (Gmelin, JF, 1788) - Jandaya Parakeet
- Aratinga maculata (Statius Müller, PL, 1776) - Sulphur-breasted Parakeet
- Aratinga nenday (Vieillot, 1823) - Nanday Parakeet
- Aratinga solstitialis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Sun Parakeet
- Aratinga weddellii (Deville, 1851) - Dusky-headed Parakeet
Other Conure species