Plain Parakeet

About the Plain Parakeet

The plain parakeet (Brotogeris tirica) is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to Brazil. The plain parakeet was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus tirica. The type locality was subsequently designated as Brazil. The plain parakeet is now placed with seven other parakeets in genus Brotogeris that was introduced in 1825 by Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek brotogērus meaning "with human voice". The specific epithet tirica is from the Tupi language tiriba meaning "tinkling". The word was used for a parakeet. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognized.

The plain parakeet is 23 to 25 cm (9.1 to 9.8 in) long and weighs about 63 g (2.2 oz). Adults have an essentially all green body, though their nape has a bluish tinge and their undersides have a yellowish one. Their shoulder is bronzy or brownish... Wikipedia →