Psittaciformes - Eupsitula - Brown Throated Conure

Brown Throated Conure - Eupsittula Pertinax - Least Concern

The brown-throated parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax), commonly known as the St Thomas conure or brown-throated conure in aviculture, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae.

Description - The brown-throated parakeet is mostly green, with the lower-parts being a lighter green than the upper-parts. Black/grey beak. Some blue in the wing feathers. Head and face colours depend on the subspecies. Though most subspecies are brown-throated, both E. p. pertinax and E. p. xanthogenia have most of the head, including the throat, orange-yellow. It is not to be confused with the similarly-named extinct Brown-headed parakeet of Raiatea in the Society Islands (Tahiti and its neighbors), more commonly known as the Society parakeet.

Distribution and Habitat - It is found widely in woodland, savanna and scrub in northern South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, the ABC islands in the Netherlands Antilles, and northern Brazil (mainly the Rio Negro/Branco region) with a disjunct population in south-western Pará. Another disjunct population is found in southern Central America in Panama and Costa Rica, and is sometimes considered a separate species, the Veraguas parakeet (A. ocularis). The brown-throated parakeet has been introduced to Puerto Rico (where now possibly extirpated), the U.S. Virgin Islands (mainly Saint Thomas, hence the alternative name Saint Thomas Conure), and various other islands in the Lesser Antilles (at least Dominica; recent sightings also from Martinique and Guadeloupe).

Taxonomy - There are several subspecies which have varying colors particularly of the crown, face and underparts.

Eupsittula pertinax aeruginosa
Eupsittula pertinax arubensis
Eupsittula pertinax chrysogenys
Eupsittula pertinax chrysophrys
Eupsittula pertinax griseipecta
Eupsittula pertinax lehmanni
Eupsittula pertinax margaritensis
Eupsittula pertinax ocularis
Eupsittula pertinax paraensis
Eupsittula pertinax pertinax
Eupsittula pertinax surinama
Eupsittula pertinax tortugensis
Eupsittula pertinax venezuelae
Eupsittula pertinax xanthogenia