Black-hooded Parakeet - Florida

As summarized in “Flight Path” in Birding, November/December 2006, Black-hooded Parakeet ("Nanday Conure"), Nandayus menday, is an established species in the central Florida Gulf Coast region, occurring at least in the area from Bayonet Point in Pasco County, to Sarasota, Sarasota County, with another isolated population found at St. Augustine, St. Johns County, and scattered along the South Atlantic Coast from Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, to Kendall, Miami-Dade County.  This exotic was unanimously accepted to the Florida State Bird Checklist by the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee in 2004, and  failed being on the ABA Checklist by one vote (6 out of 8 voted in favor; 7 yes votes needed for acceptance), in 2006.

The parakeet might be best looked for in Pinellas County, where it is widely established. Since many birders head to seek South Florida specialties in April, it might be prudent to look for these psittacids, native to Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, and first discovered in Florida in 1969.  This approximately 14-inch long bird is pictured on page 249 of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition.

Bill Maynard
Editor - Winging It