Psittacara finschi (Crimson-fronted parakeet)

Psittacara finschi (Crimson-fronted parakeet) is native from southern Nicaragua through Costa Rica to western Panama. It occupies humid and seasonally dry forest, forest edge, plantations, farmland, gardens, and towns, and it is especially familiar in Costa Rican urban areas. Adults are approximately eleven inches long, predominantly green, with red across the forehead and smaller red markings around the bend of the wing. The long pointed tail and narrow body create a streamlined outline in flight. Young birds have less extensive red on the head.

Flocks are noisy and highly mobile, traveling rapidly between feeding and roosting areas while maintaining contact with sharp calls. The diet includes fruit, seeds, flowers, and cultivated crops, and the birds often feed in the upper portions of trees. Pairs nest in natural tree cavities, old woodpecker holes, or openings in buildings and other structures where available. Large communal roosts may assemble in towns, allowing the species to live close to people without becoming domesticated. The species is also kept in aviculture, where it may be called a conure, but wild birds are social, wide-ranging parrots whose daily movements depend on natural feeding sites and roosts. The IUCN classifies it as Least Concern because it remains common across much of its native range. Photographed in Colombia.