Bird Guide

Painted Parakeet vs Sulphur-winged Parakeet

Painted Parakeet (Pyrrhura picta)

Painted Parakeet

Pyrrhura picta

Medium62 gForest

The painted parakeet is 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long; the nominate subspecies weighs 46 to 85 g (1.6 to 3.0 oz). The sexes are the same in all subspecies. Adults of the nominate subspecies are blue from their forehead to their hindcrown that becomes deep maroon on the hindcrown and nape. They have a narrow blue collar below the nape. Their face is maroon with a ring of bare grayish skin around the eye, and their ear coverts are whitish. Their upperparts are mostly green with a dull red lower back and rump. Voice: The vocalizations of the painted parakeet vary somewhat by subspecies. The nominate's most common call is "a series of rather high-pitched, somewhat yelping notes, e.g. "kyeek kyeek kyeek" " that is given both from a perch and in flight. Perched birds also give "a more rolling "kurrek" and a subdued "kek"." However, perched birds are often silent.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Painted Parakeet
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz · Call, flight call · San Bernardino, Libertador, Capital District, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: Itzel Fong Gadea Derivative work MagentaGreen · CC BY 3.0
Sulphur-winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura hoffmanni)

Sulphur-winged Parakeet

Pyrrhura hoffmanni

Medium82 gForest

The sulphur-winged parakeet is about 23 to 24 cm (9.1 to 9.4 in) long and weighs an average of 82 g (2.9 oz). The sexes are the same. Adults of the nominate subspecies are mostly green. Their head, nape, and throat have some yellow inclusions; bare white skin surrounds their eye and their ear coverts are bright terracotta. Their breast has a dull orange wash. Their wing is mostly green with yellow primary coverts, inner primaries, and outer secondaries; the outer primaries are blue. Their tail's upperside is rufous olive with green fringes on the feathers; its underside is reddish brown. Voice: The sulphur-winged parakeet's most common call is "a series of high-pitched shrill notes, e.g. "krree krree krree" " that is given both from a perch and in flight. It is shrill but not screechy in contrast to that of other Pyrrhura parakeets. Perched birds are often silent. Flocks in flight "call frequently and simultaneously, producing a noisy, harsh and piercing chattering."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Painted Parakeet and Sulphur-winged Parakeet.