Guaruba guarouba

The golden parakeet or golden conure (Guaruba guarouba) is a medium-sized golden-yellow Neotropical parrot native to the Amazon Basin of interior northern Brazil. It is the only species placed in the genus Guaruba.

Its plumage is mostly bright yellow, hence its common name, but it also possesses green remiges. It lives in the drier, upland rainforests in Amazonian Brazil, and is threatened by deforestation and flooding, and also by the now-illegal trapping of wild individuals for the pet trade. It is listed on CITES appendix I.[3]
Taxonomy

The golden parakeet was listed in 1633 by the Dutch geographer Joannes de Laet in his History of the New World. He gave the local name as Guiarubas.[4] De Laet included the parakeet in the 1640 French translation of his book.[5] The word Guiarubas comes from the Tupi language: Guarajúba means "yellow bird".[6] The golden parakeet was also described by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in 1648 in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. Marcgrave gave the local name as Quiivbatvi.[7] Based on Marcgrave's description, the golden parakeet was included in the works of Francis Willughby in 1678,[8] John Ray in 1713,[9] and Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[10] In 1779 the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon, included a description based on a preserved specimen in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.[11] An illustration based on the same specimen was published separately.[12]

When in 1788 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae he included the golden parakeet and cited earlier works including Buffon's description of "Le Guarouba". He placed it with the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus guarouba.[13]

Formerly classified as Aratinga guarouba[14][a] the golden parakeet is now the only species placed in the genus Guaruba that was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson.[15][16] The different spellings of the genus and species names result from the different spellings used by Lesson and Gmelin and the rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Lesson initially used Guarouba but on subsequent pages changed this to Guaruba.[17] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[16] This species is also known as the golden conure.[18]

Molecular studies show that Guaruba and Diopsittaca (red-shouldered macaw) are sister genera.[19][20][21][22] It is also closely related to Leptosittaca branicki, (golden-plumed parakeet).
Description

The golden parakeet is 34–36 cm (13–14 in) long and mainly yellow with green in the outer wings and with an all-yellow tail.[18] It has a large horn-colored (gray) beak, pale-pink bare eye rings, brown irises, and pink legs. Males and females have identical external appearance. Juveniles are duller and have less yellow and more green plumage than the adults. The juvenile's head and neck are mostly green, the back is green and yellow, the upper side of tail is mostly green, the breast is greenish, the eye rings are pale-gray, and the legs are brown.[23]
Distribution and habitat

Its range is estimated to be limited to about 174,000 km2.[24] between the Tocantins, lower Xingu, and Tapajós Rivers in the Amazon Basin south of the Amazon River in the state of Pará, northern Brazil. Additional records occur from adjacent northern Maranhão. The birds in a 1986 study used two different habitats during the year; during the nonbreeding season, which coincided with the dry season, they occupied the tall forest. During the breeding season, they left the tall forest and entered open areas on the edge of the forest such as fields used in agriculture.[25]
Behavior and ecology

Golden parakeets are a social species, living, feeding, sleeping, and even breeding together.[25] In the wild, they have a varied diet, feeding on fruits such as mango, muruci and açai, flowers, buds, seeds (including Croton matouensis, and crop plants, particularly maize.[24][26]
Breeding
Guaruba guarouba - MHNT

The golden parakeet's breeding system is almost unique amongst parrots, as pairs are aided by a number of helpers which aid in the raising of the young.[25] This behavior is less common with parakeets in captivity, which often abandon their young after three weeks.[27]

After the golden parakeet reaches sexual maturity at the age of three years, the breeding season starts in November and runs through February. They nest in a high tree, in deeper than average nesting cavities, and lay an average of four 37.1 by 29.9 mm (1.46 by 1.18 in) white eggs, which they aggressively guard. The incubation period is about 30 days, in which the male and female take turns incubating. In the first few years of sexual maturity, golden parakeets tend to lay infertile clutches until the age of six to eight. In captivity, golden parakeets resume breeding when their chicks are taken from them.[27][28]

At birth, golden parakeets are covered in white down that eventually turns darker within a week. By the end of the third week, wing feathers start to develop. Juveniles are playful, but may turn abusive against their peers.[27] Nestlings are preyed upon by toucans, which may explain their social behavior. Nests are vigorously defended from toucans by several members of the group.[25]
Conservation and threats

The golden parakeet is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable.[1] This is largely due to deforestation and the capture of wild birds for aviculture, where it is in high demand due to the attractiveness of its plumage. Locally, they are considered as pests for feeding on crops, and are hunted for food or sport.[27] The current population is estimated to be in the range of 10,000 to 20,000.[24][29]

An example of the displacement of golden parakeets by habitat loss comes from the building of the Tucuruí Dam, Pará, from 1975–1984. More than 35,000 forest dwellers were forced from what had been a habitat that was considered to be "among the richest and most diversified in the world." In addition, 2,875 km2 (1,110 sq mi) of rainforest were flooded, and 1,600 islands were produced by the flooding, all of which were heavily deforested.[30]

An international effort led by the Brazilian government in partnership with Parrots International, Lymington Foundation, the University of São Paulo and others is underway to raise young birds in captivity reintegrate them to their natural habitat with support of locals in Northeast Brazil.[31]

See also

Conure
Sun parakeet

Notes

SACC 2005: 6. Guarouba was formerly (e.g., Peters 1937, Meyer de Schauensee 1970) included in Aratinga, but see Sick (1990), and also Tavares et al. (2004, 2006), Wright et al. (2008), and Kirchman et al. (2012), whose genetic data indicated that the sister genus to Guarouba is Diopsittaca, thus forcing a return to earlier classifications (e.g., Cory 1918, Pinto 1937) that treated it in a monotypic genus.

References

BirdLife International (2013). "Guaruba guarouba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
"Species lists (Appendices I, II and III)". CITES. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007.
Laet, Joannes de (1633). Novus Orbis seu descriptionis Indiae Occidentalis (in Latin). Lugd. Batav.: Apud Elzevirios. p. 556.
Laet, Joannes de (1640). L'Histoire du nouveau monde ou description des Indes Occidentales (in French). A Leyde: Chez Bonauenture & Abraham Elseuiers. p. 490.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Marcgrave, Georg (1648). Historia Naturalis Brasiliae: Liber Quintus: Qui agit de Avibus (in Latin). Lugdun and Batavorum (London and Leiden): Franciscum Hackium and Elzevirium. p. 207.
Willughby, Francis (1678). Ray, John (ed.). The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of Warwick. London: John Martyn. p. 117.
Ray, John (1713). Synopsis methodica avium & piscium (in Latin). London: William Innys. p. 35.
Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 4. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. p. 369.
Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1779). "Le Guarouba ou Perriche Jaune". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 6. Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale. pp. 272–274.
Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Perruche jaune de Cayenne". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 6. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 525.
Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1788). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 320.
Peters, James Lee, ed. (1937). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 186.
Lesson, René (1830). Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau Méthodique (in French). Paris: F.G. Levrault. p. 210. Published in 8 livraisons between 1830 and 1831. For the publication date see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
David, N.; Dickinson, E.; Gregory, S. (2009). "Contributions to a list of first reviser actions: ornithology". Zootaxa. 2085 (1): 1–24. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2085.1.1.
Collar, N.J. (1997). "Golden parakeet (Guarouba guarouba)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. p. 427. ISBN 978-84-87334-22-1.
Tavares, E.S.; Yamashita, C.; Miyaki, C.Y. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships among some Neotropical parrot genera (Psittacidae) based on mitochondrial sequences". The Auk. 121 (1): 230–242. doi:10.1093/auk/121.1.230.
Tavares, E.S.; Baker, A.J.; Pereira, S.L.; Miyaki, C.Y. (2006). "Phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of Neotropical parrots (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae: Arini) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA Sequences". Systematic Biology. 55 (3): 454–470. doi:10.1080/10635150600697390.
Wright, Timothy; et al. (2008). "A multilocus molecular phylogeny of the parrots (Psittaciformes): support for a Gondwanan origin during the Cretaceous". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 25: 2141–2156. doi:10.1093/molbev/msn160. PMC 2727385. PMID 18653733.
Kirchman, J.; Schirtzinger, Wright (April 2012). "Phylogenetic relationships of the extinct Carolina Parakeet inferred from DNA sequence data". The Auk. 129 (2): 197–204. doi:10.1525/auk.2012.11259.
Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. Plate 74. ISBN 0-691-09251-6.
"Birdlife International Species Factsheet".
Oren, David C.; Novaes, Fernando (1986). "Observations on the golden parakeet Aratinga guarouba in Northern Brazil". Biological Conservation. 36 (4): 329–337. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(86)90008-X.
"Natural Diet". goldenconure.org. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
Honolulu Zoo Archived 2007-03-06 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed January 24, 2007.
Golden Conure - Breeding Archived 2011-03-25 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed January 26, 2007.
Laranjeiras, Thiago (Sep 2011). "Biology and population size of the Golden Parakeet (Guaruba guarouba) in western Pará, Brazil, with recommendations for conservation" (PDF). Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 19 (3): 303–314. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-14.
Deforestation URL accessed January 26, 2007.
[1] Fundacao Lymington Sao Paulo URL accessed August 13, 2017.

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