| Blue-crowned parakeet | |
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| Thectocercus acuticaudatus neumanni in San Isidro in Bolivia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Tribe: | Arini |
| Genus: | Thectocercus Ridgway, 1912 |
| Species: |
T. acuticaudatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Thectocercus acuticaudatus (Vieillot, 1818) | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Aratinga acuticaudata | |
The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (Thectocercus acuticaudatus) is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern ColombiatoCuracao in the southern caribbean, and to the northern region of Argentina. They inhabit savanna-like habitats, woodland and forest margins, but avoid dense humid forest such as the Amazon.
This species is officially called a parakeet by the AOU and by birders, though usually called conuresinaviculture.
While T. acuticaudatus is the only species in the monotypic genus Thectocercus,[2] this species has five subspecies:[3]
Previously, this species was part of the genus Aratinga, but that genus was split in four distinct genera once various phylogenetic studies showed that the genus, as traditionally defined, was polyphyletic.[2]
The blue-crowned parakeet is a medium-sized bird measuring approximately 37 cm (14.5 in) in length and weighing between 140 and 190 g (4.9 and 6.7 oz).
Blue-crowns are born with red coloring around the head, but blue-crowns are predominantly green, with dull blue coloring on the forehead, crown, cheeks, and ears in the nominate, but less blue in other subspecies. It has a ring of white featherless skin around each eye, though this is bright orange-yellow in wild T. acuticaudata neumanni.[4] The breast feathers may also be tinged with blue, though they are more commonly green to yellow-green. Closed wing coloring matches that of the body while extended wings show blue-brown, becoming chestnut on the outer flight feathers. The tail feathers are green on top, maroon to red-brown on the underside, iridescing to bright orange and scarlet under full-spectrum light. Legs are pink-brown with grey-brown claws. The upper mandible is horn-colored, tapering to a needle-sharp, grey-black tip. In the southern and western nominate and subspecies neumanni, the lower mandible is horn-colored in juveniles, fading to grey-black by the bird's second year. The remaining eastern, central and northern subspecies retain the horn-colored lower mandible throughout adulthood.
The blue-crowned parakeet's nest is a hole in a tree. The eggs are white and there are usually three to four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for 26 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 52 days after hatching.[5]
Blue-crowned parakeets are generally called blue-crowned conures in aviculture. They are social birds and are relatively good talkers compared to other conures.[5] They have become quite popular as pets, with a reputation as one of the "easier" parrots to care for. However, they are also intelligent, high-energy birds that require a lot of attention and a cage with ample room and toys. They can also be quite loud at times. Consequently, they are more appropriate companions for serious bird enthusiasts rather than the casual birdkeeper.
https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=4BE8E5F1B316CC94
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Genera of parrots and their extinct allies
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| Thectocercus acuticaudatus |
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| Aratinga acuticaudata |
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| Psittacara acuticaudatus |
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