ADVANCES IN IDENTIFICATION

Variation and Possible

Hybridization in
Brotogeris Parakeets
by Bill Pranty and
Howard Voren
Avian Ecology Lab
Archbold Biological Station
123 Main Drive
Venus FL 33960
billpranty@hotmail.com

BP has contributed several items to the

ornithological literature, and he is particularly
interested in the exotic avifauna of Florida.
He is perhaps best known as the author of
A Birders Guide to Florida, published by the
ABA in 1996 and currently under revision.

P.O.Box 152
Loxahatchee FL 33470
voren@adelphia.net

HV is the owner and operator of Vorens Aviaries,

Inc., and founder of the Voren Research Institute
for Psittacultural Science.A professional aviculturist
for more than 30 years, he spent 15 years
studying parrots in Central and South America.He
is the primary author of Parrots: Hand-Feeding and
Nursery Management (Silvio Mattachione, 1992).

262

n 1997, the American Ornithologists Union split the Canarywinged Parakeet (Brotogeris versicolurus) into the White-winged Parakeet
(B. versicolurus) and the Yellowchevroned Parakeet (B. chiriri). Both
species are native to non-overlapping
regions of South America (Forshaw
1977, Brightsmith 1999): Whitewingeds to the Amazon Basin and Yellow-chevroneds farther south. Both
species of parakeets also occur in
parts of California and Florida from
releases of birds imported for the pet
trade (Garrett 1993, Smith and Smith
1993, Brightsmith 1999, Pranty and
Garrett 2002, Pranty and Garrett
2003). From 1968 through 1972,
more than 260,000 Canary-winged
Parakeets were imported, and, based
on information on country of origin,
at least 90% of these were Whitewinged Parakeets (Brightsmith 1999).
From 1977 through 1990, an additional 75,000 Canary-wingeds were
imported, but nearly all of these were
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets (Brightsmith 1999). (There were no legal imports of birds into the United States
between 1973 and 1976 because of
Exotic Newcastle Disease, a highly
contagious and usually fatal avian disease). Importation into the United
States of wild-caught Canary-winged
Parakeets ended in 1990 (Bright-

smith 1999), and both species now

are rare in American aviculture (H.
Voren, personal observation). Naturalized populations of White-winged
Parakeets in California and Florida
have declined severely since importation largely ceased more than 25 years
ago. Conversely, populations of Yellow-chevroned Parakeets apparently
have never been larger (Garrett 1993,
Smith and Smith 1993, Brightsmith
1999, Pranty and Garrett 2002,
Pranty and Garrett 2003).
In California and Florida, both
species occur in the same regions,
and individuals flock together occasionally (Garrett 1997, Brightsmith
1999, Pranty and Epps 2002, Pranty
and Garrett 2002). Parrot books and
North American field guides portray
distinct and easily discernible differences between the two species, although the accuracy of the illustrations varies considerably (see Pranty
and Garrett 2003). The following descriptions are from Brightsmith
(1999), comments by K.L. Garrett,
and the authors examination of parakeets in Vorens collection. Yellowchevroned Parakeets are greenish-yellow (grass-green; Pranty and Garrett 2002) overall, with fully-feathered green lores, a narrow whitish orbital ring, and a darkish-tan bill. The
primaries, primary coverts, and secBIRDING JUNE 2003

ondaries of the Yellow-chevroned are

dark green, while the alula and
greater secondary coverts are yellow.
The underside of the tail is green.
White-winged Parakeets are duller
green overall, with sparsely feathered
grayish lores that merge with a wide
grayish orbital ring, and a paler tan
bill. The wings of the White-winged
are dull green with blue outer primaries and outer primary coverts, a white
alula, yellow greater secondary
coverts, white inner primaries, and
white secondaries with a pale yellow
tinge; the underside of the tail is
mostly blue. The most reliable field
marks for separating the two species
are the facial pattern and whether
white appears in any of the flight
feathers (Pranty and Garrett 2002).
To our knowledge, extensive
plumage variation has not been reported previously in these species, although Brightsmith (1999) cited a
cryptic comment by Shroads (1974)
that many White-winged Parakeets
captured at Miami in the early 1970s
showed ...variation in colors of wing
patch, exhibiting both adult and juvenile characteristics. In this note, we
present photographs of adult Brotogeris parakeets that were captured at
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1999 and
that have been held in captivity since
that time. These individuals display
considerableand, interestingly, often
asymmetricalvariation in wing colors and patterns. Voren believes that
his birds are hybrids, a hypothesis
that can be confirmed only by DNA
testing. If hybridization can be confirmed, it will be the first documented
instance of interbreeding between
White-winged and Yellow-chevroned
parakeets (Brightsmith 1999). The
presence of free-flying hybrids may
complicate matters of taxonomy and
listingnot to mention identificationfor these two species.
Regardless of the hybrid issue, the
plumage patterns of these parakeets
indicate that identification of BroW W W. A M E R I C A N B I R D I N G . O R G

togeris in the United States is not as

straightforward as has been believed,
and that it may not be possible for
some individual birds. Naturalized
populations of Brotogeris parakeets in
the United States are found in only
four metropolitan areas: Los Angeles
and San Francisco, California; and
Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida
(Garrett 1997, Brightsmith 1999,
Pranty and Epps 2002, Pranty and
Garrett 2002, Pranty and Garrett
2003). Current knowledge is insufficient to gauge the extent of plumage
variation present within these populations, but limited information is available. In California, variation has not
been documented at Los Angeles (Garrett 1997), but it has been noted at
San Francisco (L. Cole, personal communication). In Florida, variation occurs at Fort Lauderdale (as we show in
this article), but apparently it has not
been observed for certain at Miami
(Brightsmith 1999, but see Shroads
1974). Plumage anomalies in North
American populations of Brotogeris
parakeets may be overlooked because
of the difficulty of closely examining
individual parakeets. Although
plumage variation is obvious in the
photographs of these handheld birds,
it would not necessarily be evident on
birds seen perched or in flight.
Comparison of these individuals
with museum study skins is difficult
because the wings of study skins are
folded shut, which prevents examination of their primary and secondary patterns. What is needed is a series of blood samples and photographs of wild-caught individuals
from one or more of the four American populationscertainly a challenging undertaking.
The following photographs show
eight parakeets that were part of a lot of
20 that were wild-caught at Fort Lauderdale in January 1999. Voren purchased them in July 2000, had them
surgically sexed, and has kept them in
captivity since then. Some of the para-

keets may be pure parental types (Figs.

12, p. 264), while the others (Figs.
38, pp. 264265) display plumage
characteristics of bothor neither!
species. Of particular interest here is
that several of the birds exhibit
plumage asymmetry. The relationship
between asymmetrical wing patterns
and degree of potential hybridization is
unclear; asymmetry may be influenced
by whether one, or both, or neither, of
the parents were themselves hybrids.
The photographs were taken around
February 2002, about 37 months after
the birds were captured, so all birds are
in adult plumage. The birds were
videotaped in February 2003, and,
based on comparison to the photographs, no changes in plumage patterns
were evident. The parakeets paired in
captivity: Six pairs produced young in
2001, and seven pairs bred in 2002 (no
photographs were taken of these offspring). Two females subsequently
died, and the widowed males were sold,
so Voren retains about 15 of the 20
parakeets captured in 1999. (The two
dead females were discarded, but the
carcasses of the remaining parakeets
will be preserved for future research.)
The possibility of potential hybridization in naturalized populations of
Brotogeris parakeets presents a significant opportunity for American birders
to contribute to our basic understanding of an interesting and important biological phenomenon. At the present
time, there are essentially no data on
the status and distribution of free-flying Brotogeris parakeets that may be
hybrids. Identification of apparent F1
hybrids remains problematic, and
plumage variation in possible F2 hybrids is completely unknown. The
erstwhile Canary-winged Parakeet is
proving to be far more challenging and
interesting than we had ever imagined.

Acknowledgments
We thank John Boyd, Donald Brightsmith, Luke Cole, Kimball Garrett,
continued on page 266

263

VA R I AT I O N I N B R O T O G E R I S PA R A K E E T S

Fig 1. This bird seems to be an adult White-winged Parakeet. Note the bluish outer
primaries and outer greater primary coverts, the white alula, the white inner primaries and inner greater primary coverts, the white secondaries with a yellowish tinge,
and the yellow outer secondary coverts.The facial pattern clearly shows the grayish
unfeathered lores, which merge with the wide grayish orbital ring.White-winged
and Yellow-chevroned Parakeets both show green tertials. LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA;
FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig 2. This bird displays the marks of an adult Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, with
dark-green primaries and secondaries, a yellow alula, and yellow greater secondary
coverts.The face shows fully-feathered green lores and a narrow whitish orbital ring.
Determination of the overall green body color between the two Brotogeris parakeets
varies somewhat with lighting and viewing angle, but a more yellow-green color is
evident on this individual compared to the apparent White-winged Parakeet in Fig. 1.
There is probably natural variation in the color of the outer primaries and greater
primary coverts (possibly also related to lighting, angle, and wear), but these seem
to tend toward bluish in White-winged Parakeet and greenish in Yellow-chevroned
Parakeet. LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig. 3. The plumage of this female most closely resembles that of a hybrid.The green
outer primaries, yellow outer secondary coverts, and mostly all-green secondaries
are characters of Yellow-chevroned Parakeet. But the whitish alula, bluish outermost
greater primary coverts, and (asymmetrical) whitish-yellow inner primaries
three on the right wing and four on the leftsuggest some of the pattern of
White-winged Parakeet.LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig. 4. This female resembles a White-winged Parakeet, with white inner secondaries
and greater secondary coverts. However, the outer primaries are greenish, the inner
primaries are tinged with yellow, and an inner secondary on the left wing is wholly
green.The facial pattern strongly resembles that of Yellow-chevroned Parakeet.
LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

264

BIRDING JUNE 2003

Fig. 5. This male is overall familiar to the bird in Fig. 4, having greenish outer
primaries (four on the left wing and five on the right) and yellowish inner primaries.
However, this individual shows more yellow in the inner primaries, and some green
inner secondary coverts on each wingfeatures that are typical of neither Whitewinged nor Yellow-chevroned Parakeet.The face is obscured, but the grayish lores
and bold orbital ring are visible. LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig. 6. This female shows the greatest degree of asymmetry in wing pattern of any
of the 15 in Vorens collection. Even though the bird generally looks like a Whitewinged Parakeet, eight of the primaries on the right wing are greenish, and so are
seven on the lefta pattern more typical of the Yellow-chevroned Parakeet.The
facial pattern, along with the greater covert and secondary patterns on the left wing,
are fairly typical for White-winged Parakeet. But the birds right wing shows that
one inner primary and two outer secondaries are green, surrounded by yellow or
yellowish flight featherswhich features suggest Yellow-chevroned Parakeet.
LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig. 7. This male shows the most extensive wing patches of all the potential hybrids.
The bold wing patches show nearly the same shade of yellow from the inner primaries through the inner secondaries, including the greater coverts. (Yellow primaries
are not found in either species.) The alula also is yellow.The primary pattern is symmetrical, with six greenish-blue outer primaries on each wing, while most of the
secondaries are yellowish-white.The facial pattern appears like that of a Whitewinged Parakeet. LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

Fig. 8. This male appears mostly like a White-winged Parakeet. Note the mostly blue
outer primaries (five on the right and four on the left) and a orbital ring with some
bare gray lores. But note the isolated blue fifth primary on the left wing. LOXAHATCHEE,
FLORIDA; FEBRUARY 2002. HOWARD VOREN.

W W W. A M E R I C A N B I R D I N G . O R G

265

BROTOGERIS

Field Guides

continued from page 263

and Floyd Hayes for comments on

Brotogeris parakeets. Ted Floyd and
Kimball Garrett improved an earlier
draft of the manuscript. Pranty is
grateful to Holly Lovell for support.

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Fieldfare

266

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