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Golden Parakeet


Golden Parakeet
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter van Zoest (PeterZ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2011-10-20
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 G, Digital RAW
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2011-12-16 4:41
Viewed: 5207
Points: 72
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Another NEW bird for TN.

The Golden Parakeet or Golden Conure, Guaruba guarouba, formerly classified as Aratinga guarouba, is a species of Neotropical parrot. Sometimes known as the Queen of Bavaria Conure, it is the only species (monotypic) in the genus Guaruba.

Its plumage is mostly bright yellow, hence its common name, but it also possesses green remiges. It lives in the drier, upland rainforests in Amazonian Brazil, and is threatened by deforestation and flooding, and also by the now-illegal trapping of wild individuals for the pet trade. It is a protected species listed on CITES appendix I.

Description
The Golden Parakeet is mainly yellow with green in outer wings and with an all-yellow tail. It has a large horn-coloured beak, pale-pink bare eye-rings, brown irises, and pink legs. Male and female have identical external appearance. Juveniles are duller and have less yellow and more green plumage than the adults. The juvenile's head and neck are mostly green, the back is green and yellow, the upper side of tail is mostly green, the breast is greenish, the eye-rings are pale-grey, and the legs are brown.

Distribution and habitat
The Golden Parakeet is distributed in the northern parts of Brazil. The birds studied for a 1986 study used two different habitats during the year; during the non-breeding season, which coincided with the dry season, they occupied the tall forest. During the breeding season they left the tall forest and entered open areas on the edge of the forest such as fields used in agriculture.

Behavior
Golden Parakeets are a sociable species, living, feeding, sleeping and even breeding together. They eat fruits, flowers, buds, seeds, and cultured maize in the wild. These include the seed of Croton matouensis, which is related to the castor bean plant; Muruci fruit (Byrsonima crispa); mangoes; and Açaí fruits.

Reproduction
The Golden Parakeet has a breeding system that is almost unique amongst parrots, as pairs are aided by a number of helpers which aid in the raising of the young.
After the Golden Parakeet reaches sexual maturity at the age of three years, the breeding season starts in November and runs through February. They nest in a high tree, in deeper than average nesting cavities, and lay an average of four eggs, which they aggressively guard. The incubation period is about 30 days, in which the male and female take turns incubating. In the first few years of sexual maturity, Golden Parakeets tend to lay infertile clutches until the age of six to eight. In captivity, Golden Parakeets will resume breeding when their chicks are taken from them.
At birth, Golden Parakeets are covered in white down that eventually turns darker within a week. By the end of the third week, wing feathers start to develop. Juveniles are playful, but may turn abusive against their peers. Nestlings are preyed upon by toucans, a fact that may explain their social behaviour. Nests are vigorously defended from toucans by several members of the group.

Conservation
The Golden Parakeet is listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered. This is largely due to deforestation and the capture of wild birds for aviculture, where it is in high demand due to the attractiveness of its plumage. Locally, they are considered as pests for feeding on crops, and are hunted for food or sport.
An example of the displacement of Golden Parakeets by habitat loss comes from the building of the Turucuí Dam, Pará, from 1975-1984. More than 35,000 forest dwellers were forced from what had been a habitat that was considered to be "among the richest and most diversified in the world." In addition, 2,875 square kilometers (1,110 sq mi) of rainforest were flooded, and 1,600 islands were produced by the flooding, all of which were heavily deforested.

Source: Wikipedia
buscape, cobra112, joska, paolo49, pegos, marius-secan, maaciejka, Marco2010, drchoneydew, jcoowanitwong, anel, Argus, CeltickRanger, jusninasirun, pierrefonds has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To rubyfantacy: where?PeterZ 4 12-28 03:57
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2011-12-16 4:57]

Hi Peter,beautiful capture of this yellow diamond! What a original specie and what a great light balance for the best brilliant yellow,impressives plumage details too,i like it!Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

Hello Peter,
fine shot of this lovely brazilian bird, with the colours of the brazilian football team. Iespecially like its pose, the eye contact and the beautiful colours.
Best wishes,
Helmut

Hallo Peter,
Dit lyk asof hy iets baie interessant het om jou mee te deel. Wonderlike kleure en komposisie. Voorwaar 'n plesier om te aanskou. Beste groete.
Neels

Ciao Peter. Brilliant colours and perfect detauls for the pleasant one in dynamic posture. Excellent contrast.

Roberto

Hello Peter,
Excellent colors and very fine details on this photo, of this yellow Bird, Golden Parakeet!
Regards, Joska
Have a nice weekend!

hi Peter,

such a lovely catch! how did you get this beauty? and where exactly?
thanks for sharing. liked it!
Ruby

Peter, this is a stunning capture of this parakeet. Outstanding beauty. Great sharpness and detail. Have a great day, Bill

barthatibor
Hello Peter
Very good compozition,wonderful colours and impressive sharpness.
Best regards
Tibi

Perfect light and detail. Very nice pose.
A beautiful parakeet with an amazing colour.
regards yiannis

Hello Peter,
Superb sharp detailed photo of this parakeet. Great DOF with a nice OOF BG. Beautiful contrasting and saturated colours. Good composition.
Regards,
Paolo

  • Great 
  • pegos Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 222 W: 0 N: 356] (1982)
  • [2011-12-16 9:21]

Hello Peter,
splendid image with great detail and beautiful light; perfect POV and wonderful colours; pleasant eye contact. A beauty!
Regards
Enrico

Pure gold captured Peter!
Fantastic picture of this beautiful bird with such a lovely colors. The details are good.
Well done & TFS.
Kapil

brilliant colors performance very nice scene!
regards Peter
Nasos

Hi Peter,
Wonderful bird. Good DOF, well saturated colours.
Jurek

Hello Peter,
Another superb capture with great focus and very good clarity.
Wonderful contrast against the blurry background.
It is a splendid image with razor sharp details and impressive colors.
Thanks for sharing!
Marius.

Hi Peter,
what a nice photo. Amazin vivid colours. Perfect composition. Nice point of view.
Have a nice weekend,
Maciek

Another amazing bird and another beautiful photo Peter! Excellent composition, fantastic colours and good sharpness.
Regards,
Christodoulos

Ciao Peter.
Bellissimo qesto Parrochetto con un colore giallo nolto vivace, eccellente la nitidezza con dei stupendi dettagli,beme la composizione molto curata bravo.
Ciao Marco.

hallo Peter
super mooie opname met veel details en een leuke pose zo schuin op de tak
kleuren zijn prachtig
pracht plaatje
groetjes lou

Ciao Peter, fantastic golden parokeet on a beautiful blurry BG, wonderful bright colors, fine details and splendid sharpness, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

Hello Peter,
The colours of this Golden Parakeet are really amazing. The composition, details, sharpness and blurred BG make from this image a beautiful one. Well done!
Regards,
Mircea

WOW impressive and brilliant capture my favorite today. We own the ring neck parakeet, bright green version, and I will tell you they are so intelligent and quite the talkers!

I had no idea they were on the endangered list. This is an awesome shot, still taking it in. Great POV, yellow plumage contrasting against the grey, where did you take this?

Attractive golden plumage. Very nice pov and composition. Great light balance.
JC

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2011-12-17 4:48]

Hello Peter,
You show also a yellow bird, but yours is more striking! Funny to see the green feathers of the tail. The bird seems to have fun to watch the photographer!
Excellent sharpness and pleasant composition.
I wish you a nice weekend
Anne

Hi Peter,
Amazing Golden Parakeet, nice capture of this one!
TFS, nice WE!

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2011-12-17 7:52]

A fine capture Peter!
Congratulations on this addition to the TN list, well taken in a fine pose from a POV that is perfect.
The Golden Parakeet is well presented with fine sharpness and natural colours with excellent eye contact in thios pleasing composition.
Thanks for sharing this and for your kind words on our move!
Enjoy your weekend,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • iti Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 577 W: 0 N: 650] (7939)
  • [2011-12-18 10:55]

Hi Peter,
Perfect shot with excellent colours composition and sharpness details.
Good background.
Regards Jiri.

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399] (52850)
  • [2011-12-18 11:36]

Hello Peter.
This is a nice shot on this colorful Golden Parakeet. Nice detail, with an interesting pose. Excellent Work.Best regards Siggi

Conseguido ángulo de disparo. Bellos colores y un buen enfoque.
Saludos Peter: Josep Ignasi.

  • Great 
  • Tabib Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 160 W: 5 N: 167] (859)
  • [2011-12-18 23:54]

Beautiful Golden Yellow in nice pose.
Yes, that remind me of popular soccer/football team jersey.
regards,
/redzlan/.

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2011-12-19 12:10]

Hello Peter,
WHat a gorgeous and bright yellow Parrot captured in a very nice pose at the edge of the branch. Great sharpness and wonderful colours that stand out against the grey background.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

Hello Peter

Excellent close-up photo of this Parakeet
with a fine POV giving a lovely eye-contact,
great focus sharpness and details of its plumage,

TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • foozi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2791 W: 0 N: 6696] (25839)
  • [2011-12-20 18:07]

Hello Peter,
such a lovely capture here. The strong yellow feather is really an attraction. The beauty is further seen in sharpness and a pleasant pose by the bird. Moment well taken.

regards,
Foozi

This parrot has wonderful colors, Peter. In fact it is the colors of my state :-)
I like the details and the head turn looking at the camera is brilliant.
Thanks and kind regards,
Jusni

Hi Peter,

The branch is helping to frame the bird. The point of view is showing the details and colors of the Golden Parakeet. It is clear and sharp. The morning light is enhancing the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

  • Great 
  • girni Silver Note Writer [C: 7 W: 0 N: 13] (193)
  • [2012-09-11 4:20]

hello,
magnifique plumage , couleur et détails !
la branche est aussi très nette et ajoute un + à la photo.
Nicole

Hello Mr.Peter,
Beautiful picture.I wasn't the member here when you posted it.Excellent colour and sharpness.Like it very much.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for your support,which helps me to learn more,
Regards and have a nice time,
Srikumar

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