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Mitred - Mitred/Red-masked Parakeet question
Posted by Jeanne Kaufman
almost 9 years ago
5 Comments
I'm sure the following question is quite amaturish, but here goes anyway. Today, I counted 53 Parakeets perched on some balconies at an apartment complex near Dadeland, Miami, Fl. I have never seen so many together in one location! When I looked at the the listings to post my sighting on ebird, it shows a selection for Mitred or Mitred/Red-masked Parakeets. To me, the birds in my photos all look the same, and I thought I should select Mitred Parakeets. Perhaps one of you fine folks could confirm that for me. I'm still learning and thank you for your help. Sorry the photos are not very good. I was quite a distance away and it was very cloudy, having just rained.
Comments
One key feature to differentiate between the two is the Masked Parakeet has a large red patch seen on the underside of the wing and when perched can be seen as a red at the bend of the wing they also sound more nasal than the Mitred or Blue-Crowns. In the adults the amount of red on the heads can differentiate but currently in Broward there are juvenile Red-Masks with very little (to none) red on the heads.
Thank you for your comment, Steven. I noticed that red patch on the wing of the Masked when I was comparing them in the field guides, and I thought the red on its face and head seemed to be cover a larger area and be more defined, whereas the Mitred's red seemed more sparse or mottled. That's interesting about the juveniles, which certainly adds to the challenge for identification. Now I need to listen to some recorded sounds to learn the differences. Thanks again for your help!
I will upload in 1-2 days some photos of the juveniles.
There has been a large group of Mitred Parakeets in the Dadeland area for many, many years. They use to nest in the King's Creek condos, causing considerable damage to the buildings. They would make holes on the underside of the roofs over the balcony sections. The condo association has now replaced the wood with metal so the birds can't borrow holes any more. Mitred Parakeets are larger then Red-masked Parakeets and show blotchy red spots on their heads. They also have a larger beak then Red-masked Parakeets. With Red-masked Parakeet the entire head is red with a clean cutoff. In flight as Steven mentioned, you will have a red patch on the underside of the wing, this can often been seen on a perched bird with a folded wing right on the forward edge. The calls are different between the two but this takes some time to learn.
I thank you both, Steven and Larry, for responding so kindly and with such good information. I have seen parrots/parakeets flying over and perching in the area for years, but have become interested to learn more about them and how to identify them. Your comments are greatly appreciated, and I look forward to seeing your photos, Steven.
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