Sulphur-winged Parakeet

How to find it

Look for flocks flying over or sitting in tall treetops at cloud forest edges, and listen first, because the flocks are noisy. Fruit orchards, such as those at San Gerardo de Dota, can give eye-level views, and so can fruiting guava or apple trees. Providencia Road, near San Gerardo de Dota, winds through forest and can be good for them, along with trogons and Flame-throated Warbler. One birder walking the main valley road there saw them flying past, and a pair has been seen perched in a tall tree across the Savegre Valley with Long-tailed Silky-flycatchers.

How to recognise it

Look for a medium-sized green parrot with a long, rounded tail that is dull reddish. Then add the marks one by one:

- Big yellow patches on the wings.

- Crimson ear patches.

- Pale yellow to orange edges on the head, neck and chest feathers, which give a scaly look.

- Outer wing feathers that are mostly blue.

- A pale ring of bare skin around the eye.

The yellow on the wing is mostly hidden when the bird is perched, but it shows clearly in flight, so a flock crossing a valley flashes yellow. Young birds have duller scaling on the head and chest, less orange, and much less yellow on the wing.

Behaviour and diet

It travels in noisy flocks, usually from 5 to over 25 birds. In the Costa Rican mountains most birds were seen flying overhead or perched in tall treetops at the cloud forest edge.

It nests in old woodpecker holes or other cavities at the forest edge or in the canopy, 8 to 20 m up. It breeds mainly in the dry season.

Where it lives

Across its range it lives in steep mountain country, whether forested or logged, and it tolerates a good deal of disturbance, including second growth and wooded pasture. It occurs in the highlands at roughly 1200 to 3000 m.

In Costa Rica it is common at high and middle elevations of the Cordillera de Talamanca and nearby ranges, such as the Dota area, in the south. Its range includes the Caribbean slope, the southern central mountains, both sides of the Talamanca range, and sometimes the Cartago area and Irazu volcano. It is also listed among the birds of the Talamanca paramo region and on the Cloudbridge Nature Reserve bird list.

When to see it

The species moves up and down in elevation by season. In the dry season it regularly goes up to 3000 m, and in the wet season it drops to near Cartago (1300 m) and even to the General Valley (700 m), apparently on day visits.

Similar birds

In its mountain range it is the only long-tailed parakeet you are likely to see. It can overlap with Crimson-fronted Parakeet when it moves to lower elevations. Crimson-fronted, the common long-tailed parakeet of the central valley, shows a red front and red underwings, and those marks help separate it from the Sulphur-winged.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Spanish name is Perico aliazufrado. Other Spanish names listed for the species elsewhere are Cotorra Catana and Perico de Hofman. The name honors the German naturalist Karl Hoffmann.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident endemic (R-END), and the IUCN rates it Least Concern, with a stable population described as fairly common.

Photography tips

Orchards and fruiting trees at San Gerardo de Dota can bring the flock to eye level, which is far easier than craning at birds in tall treetops. Watch for the yellow wing patches in flight, since they are mostly hidden when the bird is perched.