Olive-throated Parakeet

Val took this great picture of an Olive-throated Parakeet, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

As we were hiking down a dirt road in the middle of a forest near Puerto Morelos, Mexico, three small parakeets with long pointed tails flew right over our heads, but before I could get an aim on them in flight, they were out of sight. When expressing my remorse for missing the photo op., Val said that she captured them just before they flew off (Above). Luis identified them as Olive-throated Parakeets (whuich are also known as Jamaican Conures) which have  completely green bodies with blue primaries on its wings, a prominent white eye ring (which is actually bare skin, and not feathers), and of course a lighter olive green throat and upper beast. Their green bodies enable them to hide easily in the rain forest.

These parakeets are relatively small (only grow up to about 12", but half of that is their long tail) and are primarily found in Jamaica but can also be found in St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico and down to the southern tip of Central America. I could not find any information on whether or not they have ever been sighted in the wild in the U.S.