Of 30 cm.. of length and a weight of 130 g..
The Golden-capped Parakeet (Aratinga auricapillus) It is often treated as the same species as the Sun Parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) and Jandaya Parakeet (Aratinga jandaya).

The lores, frontal band and ocular region of this kind are of color red glossy; the crown is bright golden yellow; ear-coverts, cheeks and both sides of the neck, green. The area of the nape and the the mantle are pale green: the back and the top of the rump with different hues of green and tips of red or orange; floor area of the rump and uppertail-coverts, green; the small and medium-sized upperwing-coverts, green; the large coverts and primaries, secondaries, vane outer and tips from them primaries, blue.

Underwing-coverts, orange-red; underside of flight feather grey. The chin and throat yellowish green with orange discoloration on the top of the chest and deep color red pale in the belly; vent, the thighs and undertail-coverts, green. Upper, the tail, of colour brownish with them tips blue, sometimes with the vane external foreign blue feathers; undertail, the tail, grey.

The bill, grey-black; grey, the bare skin of the bare periophthalmic; irises yellowish; legs grey.

Both sexes similar.

Immature It has little or nothing red in the rump, more off the yellow colour of the crown; the top of the chest is greener and less extensive red on the belly.

• Sound of the Golden-capped Parakeet.

• Aratinga auricapillus auricapillus

  (Kuhl, 1820) – The species nominal.




• Aratinga auricapillus aurifrons

  (Spix, 1824) – The upperparts totally green (without red margins on the feathers of the back and Hip top). More green in the upper zone of the chest, lacking Orange dye of the nominal species.

They live in forests, as well as in the clearings and edges of the same, including coastal moist Atlantic evergreen forests and inland closed-type deciduous forests. They prefer primary formations.

Scarce or absent grassland with trees or secondary vegetation, including from the vicinity of the remaining original forests. Observed to 2.180 m (Parque nacional do Caparaó, to the South of Holy Spirit). gregarious, usually observed in flocks of 12-20 individuals, more rarely in groups of up to 40.

There are few details on the reproductive ecology of this species., Although probably nest in the months of November-December.

Implementation size in captivity is of 3-5 eggs.

Diet Golden-capped Parakeet includes various seeds and fruits. Reported foods include the corn, okra and fruits red sweet unspecified.

considered a pest of crops in some areas before its abrupt population decline.

The Golden-capped Parakeet (Aratinga auricapillus) are distributed in the area South-East of Brazil; from the North of Bay, Eastern part of Goiás and Minas Gerais, Brazil, to the East and South, on the East coast of Brazil (Holy Spirit, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and possibly, Santa Catarina).

The observations in Rio Grande do Sul, apparently they are wrong, although the species can still be found in the extreme east of Mato Grosso from the South.

A single record in 1918 in Paraguay, near the border with Paraná, Presumably coming from some exhaust.

Usually rare and irregular distribution, residents, extinct in many places with their current range defined by the remaining forests.

He greater stronghold population of the species is located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where the species was considered common in 1987 in several areas. They are very rare or they have become extinct in Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, and scarce in Goiás and Bay.

The decrease in the population is must to the continuous logging of forests and to their captures for the trade of birds.

There are several protected areas with populations of the Golden-capped Parakeet, such as the Monte Pascoal National Park (Bahia) and Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (Minas Gerais, Brazil).

Rare in captivity, mostly out of Brazil.

• Aratinga auricapillus auricapillus

  (Kuhl, 1820) – The species nominal.




• Aratinga auricapillus aurifrons

  (Spix, 1824) – The birds of the South of Bay, intermediate between this species and the species rated. South of goias, Minas Gerais, Brazil and from Espirito Santo to Santa Catarina, Brazil.

• Red List category of the UICN current: Near-threatened

• Population trend: Decreasing

The size of the population of the Golden-capped Parakeet It has not estimated formally and in the absence of sufficient data, it is estimated that you there are more than 10.000 specimens, more or less equivalent to 6.700 mature individuals; But, detailed research is required.

The population the species is suspected that it may be in decline due to the continuous loss of habitat and to his capture to the pet trade.

• There has been extensive and ongoing clearance and fragmentation of suitable habitat for this species., for use as coffee plantations, soybean and sugarcane in Sao Paulo, and livestock in Goiás and Minas Gerais, Brazil (Snyder et to the., 2000).

• The capture for trade, He has probably had a significant impact, since it was relatively common in the illegal Brazilian markets in the mid-1990s. 1980, importing hundreds of birds to Western Germany in the decade of 1980. But, the precise effect is obscured by large numbers of captive-bred birds, that presumably see reduced pressure on wild populations remaining (LF Silveira in litt., 1999).

• Despite its tendency to nest, times, near human settlements, It is apparently not the most favoured species for the pet trade (VT Lombardi in litt. 2011).

• There are no records of persecution in response to crop degradation..

Conservation Actions Underway:

• CITES Appendix II.

• They are distributed in Monte Pascoal, Chapada da Diamantina, The Sierra de Canastra National Park (common in the south) (Silveira 1998) and Parque nacional do Caparaó, Rio Doce State Park and Book Caratinga.

Conservation Actions Proposed:

• Survey to locate important new populations and define the limits of their current range..

• Study to determine its population dynamics and dispersal capacity., as well as provide a detailed analysis of their habitat requirements in different sites.

•Ensure the protection of key reserves.

• Protect species under Brazilian law.

Rare in captivity, mostly out of Brazil.

Their life expectancy is about 30 years.

– Golden-capped Parakeet, Flame-capped Conure, Flame-capped Parakeet, Gold-capped Conure, Golden capped Parakeet, Golden-capped Conure (English).
– Conure à tête d’or, Conure à tête dorée, Perriche à tête d’or, Perruche à tête d’or (French).
– Goldkopfsittich, Goldkappensittich (German).
– jandaia-de-testa-vermelha, cara-suja, jandaia, periquito-de-cabeça-vermelha (Portuguese).
– Aratinga Testadorada, Maracaná corona dorada, Periquito de Cabeza Dorada (español).
– Maracaná corona dorada (Paraguay).

– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittacidae
– Genus: Aratinga
– Scientific name: Aratinga auricapillus
– Citation: (Kuhl, 1820)
– Protonimo: parrot auricapillus

Sources:

– Sounds: Douglas Meyer (Xeno-canto)