How to Figure out which species of Quaker Parakeet you have

This is an excerpt from an article by Donald Brightsmith that was orginally published in Bird Talk Magazine.

Which subspecies of Quaker do you have? Most experts list 4 different subspecies see the list below to get an idea what your bird may be.

Myiopsitta monachus monachus:

Range: Se. Brazil, Uruguay and ne. Argentina

Wing length (measured from the bend of the wing to the tip of the longest primary): 14.1-16.1 cm

Weight: 120 g

Note: Largest subspecies of Quaker. Since most Quakers were exported from within the range of this subspecies most pets in the US should belong to this subspecies.

M. m. calita

Range: Western Argentina

Wing length: 13.6-14.4 cm

Weight: 100g

Note: The size difference is the best way to tell this from M. m. monachus. If your bird is small it may be this subspecies or M. m. cotorra (see below).

M. m. cotorra

Range: Se. Bolivia, Paraguay and s. Brazil

Wing length: 13.1-14.7 cm

Weight: 100g

Note: This subspecies and calita are very hard to distinguish. M. m. cotorra supposedly is brighter green above and have less yellow below than calita.

M. m. luchsi (a.k.a. the Cliff Parakeet)

Range: Central Bolivia, geographically isolated from all other subspecies

Wing length: 146-163

Note: This is best told from the others by its distinctive plumage. The gray of the breast is uniform, not scaled. On all other subspecies the breast feathers are darker gray in the center with a lighter border giving the breast a scaled appearance. In addition, the gray on the forehead is whiter and extends to the mid crown in M. m. luchsi. The band on the upper abdomen is also purer yellow.

This bird gets its name because it builds its stick nests on cliffs in the deep valleys where it lives. This bird has recently been considered a different species Myiopsitta luchsi the Cliff Parakeet by Collar 1997 (see below for reference). Any aviculturists who have these birds should make a conscious effort to breed them with other Cliff Parakeets to help preserve captive populations of this globally uncommon species.

Adapted from N. J. Collar. 1997. Family Psittacidae. in Handbook of Birds of the World Volume 4 Lynx Ediciones Barcelona, Spain.

*article source: http://vtpb-www2.cvm.tamu.edu/brightsmith/Monk%20Parakeets.html