Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus)

Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineus)
Chilean name: Cachaña

Torres del Paine, Chile
December 2005

The Austral Parakeet is distributed from Santiago southwards in Chile and in adjacent areas of Argentinean Patagonia. It is found in southern Beech Nothofagus and Araucaria forest where it feeds on leaf buds and seeds. It is also found on nearby farmland.

At a distance it can be confused with Slender-billed Parakeet E. leptorhynchus but is smaller and has a small bill which gives a flat look to the face. The reddish patch on the forehead is smaller while the reddish patch on the belly is larger.

It nests in holes in trees and the 3rd photo shows a parakeet at the entrance to its nest in a Nothofagus beech tree.

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