Cobalt-winged Parakeets (Brotogeris cyanoptera) and Orange-cheeked Parrots (Pyrlia barrabandi), Yasuni National Park, Ecuador
The cobalt-winged parakeet is a species of bird in the Psittacidae family, the true parrots. It is found in the eastern Andean foothills, the far western Amazonian regions in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; in Brazil, the Amazon Basin states of Amazonas, Acre, and Rondonia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. They and the Orange-cheeked Parrot regularly visits clay banks (or licks) to consume the soil, an antacid-like dense soil which neutralizes toxins taken in by the parrots during their daily feedings. Such licks serve as a major wildlife attraction for eco-tourists at sites such as the Napo Wildlife Center.
Year: 2014
From album: National Parks and examples of Linking Tourism & Conservation of Ecuador
Photographer: Peter Prokosch