Austral Parakeet

The austral parakeet is 28 to 36 cm (11 to 14 in) long; a specimen of a male E. f. minor weighed 155 g (5.5 oz). The sexes are the same. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dull reddish forehead and lores in an otherwise yellow-green face. Their upperparts are dull green. Their underparts are yellowish green with a dull reddish patch on the belly; dark feather edges give a scaly appearance. Their tail is also dull reddish; their wings are mostly green with bluish green primaries. Immature birds are similar but the red of the face and belly are even duller. Subspecies E. f. minor is smaller and darker than the nominate.

The austral parakeet is the southernmost of all parrots. Subspecies E. f. minor is found in southern Chile from the O'Higgins Region south to Aysén and in adjoining southwestern Argentina from Neuquén Province to northwestern Santa Cruz. The nominate subspecies is found from minor's southern limit almost to Cape Horn. Undocumented sight records in the Falkland Islands lead the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society to class it as hypothetical there. The austral parakeet primarily inhabits southern beech (Nothofagus) forest and woodlands dominated by oaks (Quercus) and Drimys andina. It also occurs in nearby semi-open areas, ranchlands, and occasionally in cultivated areas. It is mostly found near sea level in the far south but ranges as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the north.

The austral parakeet often forages in flocks that can have as many as 100 individuals and may include other bird species as well. Its diet includes seeds of grasses, bamboo, and the "Chilean pine" Araucaria araucana, and also fruits, berries, acorns, and leaf buds. In the northernmost part of its Argentinian range it has been observed feeding on insect larvae.