Sulphur-winged Parakeet

Pyrrhura hoffmanni

eBird describes the Sulphur-winged Parakeet like this:  Medium-sized parakeet with long pointed tail. Most distinctive in flight, when the wings look mostly bright yellow. When perched, look for the isolated red cheek patch, which is unlike any other parakeet in range. Sexes similar. Found in small flocks, usually in forested areas or edges. Calls are high-pitched and squeaky.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Sulphur-winged Parakeet with this descriptive information:  The Sulphur-winged Parakeet is the northernmost species in the large genus of Pyrrhura parakeets. This species occurs in the highlands of southern Costa Rica and western Panama, with an elevational range of approximately 1200-3000 m. The Sulphur-winged Parakeet is primarily green, with red auriculars, blue primaries, and a maroon under surface to the rectrices. There is a limited amount of yellow on the upper surface of the wing, but the Sulphur-winged Parakeet takes its name from the yellow underwing primary coverts and bright yellow bases to the under surfaces of the remiges. Sulphur-winged Parakeets occupy humid montane forest and forest edges, and are relatively tolerant of habitat disturbance; despite its small geographic range, this species is fairly common, and is not considered to be threatened.

I had the pleasure of observing and photographing a small flock of Sulphur-winged Parakeets on the morning of February 8, 2023.  Our small group was hiking a trail above the Hotel Savegre when we came across a large tree with a sizeable crevace in its trunk that was being used by these birds.  What a sight they were!