Tag Archives: cobalt-winged parakeet

Cobalt-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris cyanoptera)

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The Cobalt-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris cyanoptera) is a species of bird in the Psittacidae family.  Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.

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I took the 1st 2 shots at the small parrot clay lick near Napo Wildlife Center.  The shot below is from Wikipedia since we didn’t get the full spectacle the day we were there.

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They have quite a large range in in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. A top spot to see them is the small parrot clay lick near Napo Wildlife Center.  Also try looking for them at clay licks near Tambopata & Manu in Peru.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT COBALT-WINGED PARAKEETS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

The clay lick scene can be amazing if you get lucky!  By contrast, I only saw around 6-8 parakeets in the trees.

 

Here’s a digiscoped clip of a hungry parakeet.

 

 

 

 

Small Parrot Clay Lick Near Napo Wildlife Center

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The smaller parrot clay lick at Napo Wildlife Center is located down a short trail near the Anangu Kichwa Village.  It’s not visible from the river like the large clay lick so you need a guide from one of the lodges.  The visit fee is included if you are staying at  Napo Wildlife Center or by paying $15 if you are at one of the other lodges.

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Keep an eye out for river birds such as the Roseate SpoonbillIMG_4384 IMG_4385a IMG_4395a IMG_4398a

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Yellow-headed Caracara

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Pied LapwingIMG_4413a

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Green KingfisherDSCN2073

Landing dock for the clay lickIMG_4414

Well-maintained trailIMG_4415 DSCN2043

Crested OwlsIMG_4419 IMG_4421a IMG_4423

Although we began the trip with several tourists and 2 guides, the weather wasn’t looking good for the 2nd clay lick so one guide took us down the trail and the other guide took the other tourists to the village.  This was our only chance to see the 3 parrot species that are known to visit this clay lick – Cobalt-winged Parakeet, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet & Orange-cheeked Parrot.  I knew we had to be patient and wait, so wait we did.  There were lots of butterflies but they were hard to photograph.IMG_4424

Finally a few Cobalt-winged Parakeets gathered in the trees but didn’t come down to the clay lick.  In good weather, there can be hundreds of parrots crowding the clay lick so we were disappointed not to see the numbers but at least we saw the birds!IMG_4432 IMG_4432a IMG_4441 DSCN2040 DSCN2040a IMG_4443 IMG_4442a

The Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlets & Orange-cheeked Parrots never showed up.  I didn’t give up easily but finally had to admit defeat when the last Cobalt-winged Parakeet flew off and the surrounding forest grew quiet.

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