Hispaniolan parakeet
The Hispaniolan parakeet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In the former country it is called "perico" and in the latter "perruche".
Taxonomy and systematics
The Hispaniolan parakeet was for a time placed in the genus Aratinga but from about 2013 has been in its present genus Psittacara. The International Ornithological Committee, the American Ornithological Society, and the Clements taxonomy consider the Hispaniolan parakeet to be monotypic. They previously treated what is now the Puerto Rican parakeet as a subspecies. BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains that former treatment.The Hispaniolan parakeet has at times been suggested to be conspecific with the white-eyed parakeet ; it and the Cuban parakeet form a superspecies.
Description
The Hispaniolan parakeet is long and weighs. The sexes are alike. Adults are mostly green that is more yellowish on their underparts. Some have a few red flecks on their head. The bend and edge of their wing and their outermost underwing coverts are red. The undersides of their flight feathers and tail are dull yellowish. Their eye is surrounded by bare white skin. Immature birds have little or no red on the wing.Distribution and habitat
The Hispaniolan parakeet formerly ranged across most of the island of Hispaniola. As of 2020 it is known in the Dominican Republic mostly from the Cordillera Central, Sierra de Bahoruco, and a few urban centers. It is very rare in Haiti, where in the early 2000s it was found in the Chaîne de la Selle and Massif de la Hotte with scattered records elsewhere. The species was introduced to Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe. There are no eBird records from the former island and very few from the latter.The Hispaniolan parakeet inhabits a wide variety of landscapes including lowland and montane forest, savanna, open woodlands, secondary forest, croplands, and urban centers such as Santo Domingo. It is most common in humid montane forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to.