A small flock of Orange-chinned Parakeets (Brotogeris jugularis) spent their days jabbering and screeching at each other in the top of a towering Cecropia Tree (Cecropia sp.) at the lodge where I stayed in Costa Rica. These parrots are commonly known as Periquito Barbinaranja in Spanish.

Orange-chinned Parakeets are the most common type of parrot I saw in the Pacific lowland jungle of Costa Rica. They are a very vocal bird and call to each other constantly when in flight, so they are quite easy to locate just by sound alone.

Costa Rica has a number of green parrots, but Orange-chinned Parakeets can be best recognized by their mostly solid green coloration, brownish shoulders, and lack of conspicuous markings of other colors like red. Orange-chinned Parakeets do have a very small area of dull orange under their beaks, but it is not easy to see and actually looks more like they got a bit messy while eating orange fruit.

Orange-chinned Parakeets feed on seeds, fruits (especially those with nice seeds), flowers, and nectar. They favor more open, sunlit areas of the jungle. These small parrots will nest in woodpecker tree cavities or holes in arboreal termite nests.