Black-capped Parakeet

The black-capped parakeet (Pyrrhura rupicola), also known as the black-capped conure or rock conure in aviculture, is a parrot native to the south-western Amazon Basin and adjacent east Andean slopes in Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It has a total length of approximately 25 cm. It is mostly green with off white scalloping on the hindneck and breast and red primary coverts. It lives in humid forests, ranging from the Amazonian lowlands up to an altitude of 1000 m on the east Andean slopes. It is designated as Least Concern despite deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Flock size is up to 30 birds with smaller groups forming during breeding season. In aviculture, these birds are known as black capped conures. They can reproduce in captivity and can also mate with the green cheeked parakeet to produce hybrid offspring. == Taxonomy == Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi described the species in 1844. There are two subspecies of Pyrrhura rupicola: P. r. rupicola P. r. sandiae P. r. rupicola can be found in western South America and is common in Peru. P. r. sandiae can be found in the extreme west of Brazil, south-east Peru, and northern Bolivia. Commonly called the Sandia…