right|thumb|Juvenile starting to get a few red feathers on its head
The red-masked parakeet (Psittacara erythrogenys) is a medium-sized parrot from Ecuador and Peru. It is popular as a pet and are better known in aviculture as the cherry-headed conure or the red-headed conure. They are also considered the best talkers of all the conures.
Description
Red-masked parakeets average about long, of which half is the tail. While they can live up to above sea level, they are usually found below the mark. Their wide distribution and popularity as pets contributes to their successful introduction in other areas upon release especially in the southern and western areas of the United States as exotic feral birds.
Feral populations
right|thumb|San Francisco's Financial District
right|thumb|[[Ferals, San Francisco|alt=Ferals on a street lamp in San Francisco; one has its wings open showing the red and green on the underside of a wing]]
Escaped cage birds are considered to be introduced in Spain. They are also seen in part of Hawaii. Breeding populations of feral parakeets have been observed in California in San Francisco, San Diego County,
References
Further reading
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor,