Aratinga weddellii
Silhouette: Myriam_Ramirez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The dusky-headed parakeet (Aratinga weddellii), also known as Weddell's conure or dusky-headed conure in aviculture, is a small green Neotropical parrot with dusty grey head found in wooded habitats in the western Amazon basin of South America. Its range extends from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and southwest Amazonian Brazil, to central Bolivia. It prefers semiopen habitats such as várzea, forest edge, and forest remnants, but can also be found in coffee plantations. It is generally common and its habitat preference makes it less vulnerable than many other Amazonian species. Consequently, it is considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International and IUCN.
This long-tailed species is generally green in color (both lutino and blue mutations are rare, but do exist in captivity) with a gray-brown head, a blue-tipped tail, and remiges that are dark gray from below, mainly blue from above. The bill is black, and it has a broad, bare, white (sometimes yellow-tinged) eye-ring. With a typical length of 25–28 cm (10–11 in) and a weight around 100 grams, it is slightly smaller than the sun conure. Many people call these conures mini-macaws because they have skin near their beaks and eyes, similar to the macaw.
It is social, and usually found in pairs or small groups. It may even flock with different species of conures. When food is plentiful, it may form flocks of up to 100 members. It eats fruit, seeds, and flowers, and searches decaying wood for insect larvae. It also ingests mineral-rich soil, e.g., from a clay lick, as a supplement. A pair raises their offspring together, nesting in woodpecker holes in trees or arboreal termite nests.
Consuming clay is believed to provide a mineral supplement and neutralise toxins in their diet. Their predators (along with many other neotropical parrots) include many birds of prey, monkeys, and in some cases, jaguars.
They do well in captivity. They are fairly easy to breed if provided with a durable nest box, and will lay up to three clutches per year. They are known to be quiet, compared to other conure species, but still very energetic and playful, like most conures. These conures' lifespans range from 25 to 50 years, though their typical lifespans are usually 35–40 years.
Recently, they have been sighted as a colony in the coastal districts of Lima, Perú. They probably came as pets, and have settled in this city. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biocentro Güembé | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Parque de las Leyendas | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Stone Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Agroflori Parque de las Aves | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Selva Viva Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky-headed Parakeet sighting in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, based on 829 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 550 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, August and November–December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky-headed Parakeet in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in January–April, June–July and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky-headed Parakeet sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Dusky-headed Parakeet sightings, Tambopata National Reserve ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia, about 30%), Manu National Park (Peru, about 30%) and Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky-headed Parakeet is recorded against all the birds logged in Tambopata National Reserve (829 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
