Bronze-winged Parrot
Pionus chalcopterus
A medium-sized parrot that usually looks all dark. With a good view, note the deep bluish-purple color overall with bronzy wings, messy pink splotches on the upper breast, and red undertail coverts. In flight, the bright blue underwings often stand out. Also look for the very deep wingbeats that seem to almost touch on the downstroke and barely come above horizontal on the upstroke – this helps separate members of the Pionus genus from the larger Amazona parrots. Bronze-winged is fairly common in forest and adjacent clearings in lowlands and foothills, up to around 2,500m. It is usually found in small flocks, most often seen in flight but also perched in the canopy or around fruiting trees.
Identification
The bronze-winged parrot is mainly dark with a whitish chin patch and its upper chest is speckled with pink feathers. It has short red undertail feathers. The rump, tail and wings are dark blue with lighter blue underwings. The head is dark blue-green; the mantle, back and underparts are dark bronze-green with some blue tipped feathers and sometimes scattered red feathers. Its beak is pale yellow. In adults the ring of bare skin around the eyes is pink. Juveniles have whitish eyerings and their underparts are brownish.
Taxonomy
Today most authorities consider this species as monotypic, but some continue to recognize two subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Pionus chalcopterus
- Authority
- (Fraser, 1841)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Pionus
Range and habitat
The bronze-winged parrot is found in far western Venezuela, western and central Colombia, western Ecuador and far north-western Peru. In Venezuela it mainly occurs at altitudes of 900–1400 m, in Colombia it mainly occurs at altitudes of 1400–2400 m (occasionally as high as 2800 m), in Ecuador mainly below 1400 m, and in Peru below 800 m. It generally prefers the canopy of forest and woodland (both humid and semi-deciduous), but also occurs in adjacent habitats with tall trees. It appears to be rather nomadic in parts of its range, but the movements (possibly only in response to the availability of food) are generally poorly understood.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
It is typically seen in pairs of small groups of up to ten birds.<p>The bronze-winged parrot nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three to four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 26 days and the chicks leave the nest about 70 days after hatching.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill
Lophoceros camurus
A small hornbill of lowland forest whose haunting duets are not easily forgotten. Its blood-red bill can be surprisingly hard to make out when backlit in the subcanopy, as can the dusky red-brown plumage on its back, chest, and wings. From below, shows a white belly and a darker chest and head. Often found by its easily imitated call that is given solo or as a duet: a series of 10-15 wavering whistles that quaver and descend in pitch over the course of 5-6 seconds.
Spectacled Warbler
Curruca conspicillata
Small and slim with a strong rusty-brown wing panel, resembles a small and beautified Greater Whitethroat. The male has a gray hood, white puffy throat, black in front of the eye, conspicuous white eyering, and white mustache. Females best told from Greater Whitethroat by short wings and dark centers to the tertials. Breeds in low bushes and scrub including salt flats; winters in similar habitats as well as tamarisk thickets and oases. Shy, but given its choice of habitat, often has nowhere to really hide. Normally sings from the tops of bushes or in flight, giving tuneful whistles with harsher, rattled notes.
Dideric Cuckoo
Chrysococcyx caprius
A small, greenish cuckoo. The male has barred flanks, white flecking on the wing, white patches in front of and behind the eye, and a distinctly red eye surrounded by a red eye-ring. The bronzy-green female has a diagnostic white patch in front of the eye, a plain back, and white patches in the wings. This common resident and migrant is not a habitat specialist, but it prefers riverine and wetland areas where its preferred brood-parasite hosts, weavers and bishops, are common. The distinctive call is a loud, rising, high-pitched “deee-deee-deee-deee-dederik”.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.