Bolborhynchus orbygnesius
The Andean Parakeet (Bolborhynchus orbygnesius) is a small, stocky, and remarkably hardy psittacine endemic to the high Andes of South America. Measuring approximately 16-17 cm in length and weighing around 48-52 grams, its plumage is predominantly dull olive-green, brighter on the underparts. A key identification feature is its distinctive ashy-gray crown, nape, and ear-coverts, which can appear as a subtle 'hood.' Its bill is horn-colored with a darker tip, and its eyes are dark with a pale...
Found in high-altitude Andean environments, favoring dry scrub, montane woodlands, open puna grasslands with scattered shrubs, and even agricultural areas, typically between 2,000 and 4,500 meters.
Primarily granivorous, feeding on small seeds from grasses, herbs, and shrubs, supplemented with small fruits, flower buds, and occasionally small invertebrates; forages mostly on the ground.
Andean Parakeets are highly social and diurnal, often forming immense flocks of hundreds, sometimes thousands, outside the breeding season, a behavior likely aiding in thermoregulation and predator vigilance at high altitudes. They roost communally in large aggregations within cliff crevices, old...
The Andean Parakeet is a resident species, distributed along the high Andes of South America. Its breeding and year-round range extends from southern Peru, through much of Bolivia, into extreme northern Chile, and northwestern Argentina. Specifically, populations are found in departments such as ...
Least Concern
- The Andean Parakeet is one of the highest-dwelling parrot species in the world, regularly found above 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) in elevation. - Outside the breeding season, these parakeets form massive flocks that can number in the thousands, a rare spectacle for parrot species. - Unlike many ...