Fun Hispaniolan Parakeet Facts For Kids

The Hispaniolan parakeet, (Psittacara chloropterus) also known as the Perico or periquito in Spanish, is a medium-size parakeet that is endemic to the island of Hispaniola which is divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These birds are extremely playful and curious birds that can be great additions to a household or aviary as pets. However, these birds are considered to be a vulnerable species due to a massive loss of population over the years caused by human interference in the form of habitat loss and exploitation in the pet trade.

These colorful birds are friendly in nature due to which they are often taken from their nests as chicks and sold off. The Dominican Republic has issued several rules and regulations in an effort to protect these birds from further endangerment and possession of these birds by illegal means is often punishable.

Hopefully, with such rules and regulations placed on them, the poaching of these birds can be stopped in an effort to help them reach their previous thriving population.

If you liked these true facts about Hispaniolan parakeet, then you'll surely like these facts about green heron and Amazon parrot too!

What type of animal is a Hispaniolan parakeet?

The Hispaniolan parakeet is a medium-sized member bird that is related to the parrot family. This bird species is endemic to the island of Hispaniola which is divided into the regions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These parrots have been a part of the pet trade for years thanks to their playful nature and an eye-catching bright green plumage.

What class of animal does a Hispaniolan parakeet belong to?

The Hispaniolan parakeet, much like most of the bird species, belongs to the Aves class of animals. These birds belong to the Psittacidae family which is one of the three true parrot species.

How many Hispaniolan parakeets are there in the world?

The Hispaniolan parakeet once existed in large numbers in its native habitat range of Hispaniola. Their population has seen a steep decline over the years due to them being used in the pet trade and because of human interference in the natural habitat range. As of now, these parrots are found in small groups with diminished populations of around 2,500 to 10,000 breeding and non-breeding individuals.

These parrots have been listed as a Vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List due to this diminutive population.

Where does a Hispaniolan parakeet live?

Hispaniolan parakeets naturally occur in the subtropical or tropical montane forest range with a scattered population in Haiti and Dominican Republic. Feral populations can be found in Puerto Rico and Florida where they co-exist with other parrot subspecies. In Haiti, this parakeet is believed to be extinct due to human interference.

What is a Hispaniolan parakeet's habitat?

The Hispaniolan parakeet habitat range is wide as these parrots, in the wild, occur in the tropical and sub-tropical forest, lowland forest, and the park savanna.

As a feral bird, this parrot is often found close to human settlements and can be often found in a park or orchard.

The Hispaniolan parakeet migrate but not of free will, they are rather forced to due to human interference and sometimes feral populations can be found in surrounding areas of the specimens who have escaped from captivity.

Who do Hispaniolan parakeets live with?

As it is with most parrot species, the Hispaniolan parakeet too is a social bird. These tree-dwellers can be found in pairs or large groups or flocks which can sometimes consist of 90-100 individuals.

How long does a Hispaniolan parakeet live?

Based on lack of documentation, the lifespan of this bird in the wild or in captivity cannot be stated. However, based on the studies on other parakeet relatives like the jandaya parakeet and the green parakeet, it can be estimated that the Hispaniolan parakeet too, much like the aforementioned parakeets, may have a lifespan in between 25-30 years.

How do they reproduce?

Not much is known about the reproduction behavior or the breeding season of these parrots due to them being a vulnerable species of birds. However, there is some information according to which it can be stated that both the Hispaniolan parakeet male and the female reach sexual maturity between three to five years of age.

Neither the Hispaniolan parakeet female nor the male is a nest builder. Instead, in the wild, these birds use woodpecker holes or a tree cavity as a nesting site.

The Hispaniolan parakeet eggs are white in color and the female lays three to four eggs in a single clutch.

What is their conservation status?

The Hispaniolan parakeet species have seen a massive decline in their population which has led to this bird being listed as a Vulnerable Species on the IUCN Red List.

What do Hispaniolan parakeets look like?

The Hispaniolan parakeet is a medium-sized parrot that has bright green plumage. Their tail is long and pointed, with a pale beak that is paler in comparison to their face. The eye-ring on these birds are white and red patches can be seen on the wing's wrist area. Based on the Hispaniolan parakeet appearance, it is difficult to tell the male and the female apart. These parrots have blue wing patches.

How cute are they?

Hispaniolan parrots are an extremely cute species of the parakeet family thanks to their bright green plumage that is topped off with blue wing patches. This color palette and friendly nature are what leads to individuals being taken from their nests in the wild even though the sale of these birds is strictly prohibited due to them being listed as a Vulnerable Species on the IUCN Red List.

How do they communicate?

The Hispaniolan parakeet call consists of a series of high pitch noises. Individuals are often found making this screeching noise when they want to communicate with others or alert other birds of the presence of danger.

How big is a Hispaniolan parakeet?

Hispaniolan parakeets, medium-sized parakeets and full-grown adults grow up to 11.8-12.9 in (30-32.7 cm), and are slightly larger compared to another parakeet species called the monk parakeet that grow up to 11.40 in (28.9 cm).

How fast can a Hispaniolan parakeet fly?

Hispaniolan parakeets are not known for their flight speed, due to which there is little to no record of the flight speed of these birds.

How much does a Hispaniolan parakeet weigh?

These birds have a good body-to-weight ratio as their weight between 5-5.1 oz (141.7-144.5 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

As of now, neither sex of these birds has been given a specific name.

What would you call a baby Hispaniolan parakeet?

A baby Hispaniolan parakeet, like most other species and subspecies of parakeets, is known as a chick.

Juveniles can be often seen donning white patches because of the lack of plumage on their body, a red band on the wing can be seen with an absent outer median on the wing with the presence of a short tail.

What do they eat?

Since these birds are herbivores, the Hispaniolan parakeet range of diet consists of a number of plant-based products in the form of fruits, vegetables, and seeds.

Are they poisonous?

No, these birds are not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, they can be good pets but it is not recommended to own a Hispaniolan parakeet as they are under strict conservation efforts as a vulnerable species, and owing them is illegal in many ways.

Did you know...

Parakeets hide rather long tongues under their beak that help them in digging out food from tree cavities or hard-shelled nuts.

There have been reports of Hispaniolan parakeets being introduced to Puerto Rico but the population count is low so these birds cannot thrive in Puerto Rico.

Another scientific name for the Hispaniolan parakeet is Aratinga chloroptera.

Parakeets, unlike parrots, do not use their feet to hold food, instead, they use their beaks.

Parakeets are highly intelligent animals and are curious enough to solve simple shape-based puzzles and games.

Many parakeet species, like the sun parakeet, are fast learners and can be trained to talk.

What role do Hispaniolan parakeets play in the ecosystem?

Hispaniolan parakeets are herbivores due to which a large part of their diet consists of various fruits and nuts, as a direct result of this diet, these birds are helpful in the dispersal of seeds all over their habitat range and indirectly contribute to the growth of trees in their ecosystem.

Are Hispaniolan parakeets endangered?

Hispaniolan parakeets are a Vulnerable species, making their status worse than just being endangered.

There are widespread conservation efforts to keep these species from losing any more of their already diminishing population. In the Dominican Republic, the possession of this vulnerable bird as a pet is illegal and efforts by the government have been put in place to seize illegal ownership of the species. In all cases of them being sold in the pet trade, it is always the babies that are taken from their nests and sold.

Fortuitously, the Dominican Republic government has hired park rangers and locals on the basis of monetary incentives to protect them from illegal poaching. With strict conservation efforts like this, it might be possible in the future for these parrots to be replaced from the vulnerable list on the IUCN Red List to that of a safer near threatened status.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Amazon parrot facts and brant facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable exotic bird coloring pages.

Second image by trabajo propio.