Black-headed Parrot
Pionites melanocephalus
Medium-sized, stocky parrot that is distinctive even under poor lighting conditions; note black cap and contrasting white-and-yellow pattern on face, breast, and belly. Common in a variety of forest types, especially those on sandy soils. Usually seen in groups of 4-5 or more. Groups forage quietly on fruit and flowers in forest canopy, flushing noisily with distinctive whirring wingbeats that are audible at some distance. Flight call is a penetrating screech, somewhat similar to Red-fan Parrot but higher-pitched and less variable.
Identification
The black-headed parrot is 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) long and weighs 130 to 170 g (4.6 to 6.0 oz). The sexes are the same. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a black cap from forehead to nape and a rufous-orange band across their hindneck. They are green from their lores to below their eye, and yellow on their lower face, sides of their neck, and their upper breast. Their back and wings are dull green with dark blue primaries and reddish blue axiillaries. Their lower breast and belly are creamy white and their flanks, thighs, and vent area are apricot yellow. Their tail's top surface is green with yellow feather tips and the lower surface is olive-yellow. Immature birds have pale yellow breasts and bellies. Subspecies P. m. pallidus is similar to the nominate but has a whiter breast and belly and a paler rufous-orange band on the hindneck.
Taxonomy
The black-headed parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus melanocephalus. Linnaeus based his account on the "white-breasted parrot" that had been described and illustrated in 1751 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his multivolume work "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds". Linnaeus gave the type locality as Mexico but this has been changed to Caracas in Venezuela as given by Edwards. The black-headed parrot is now placed together with the white-bellied parrot in the genus Pionites that was introduced in 1890 by the German ornithologist Ferdinand Heine. The generic name combines the genus Pionus that was introduced by Johann Wagler in 1832 with the Ancient Greek -itēs meaning "resembling". The name Pionus is from the Ancient Greek piōn, pionos meaning "fat". The specific epithet melanocephalus combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with -kephalos meaning "-headed".<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Pionites melanocephalus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Pionites
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the black-headed parrot is found from southeastern Colombia east through Venezuela and the Guianas and south into Brazil to the Amazon River. Subspecies P. m. pallidus is found east of the Andes in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northeastern Peru. The species inhabits the canopy, clearings, and edges of humid lowland tropical forest of both terra firme and várzea types. It also occurs in secondary forest. In elevation it ranges as high as 1,000 m (3,300 ft) but only in small numbers above 500 m (1,600 ft).
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
The black-headed parrot is nomadic in French Guiana to follow the pattern of food availability. Its movements elsewhere, if any, have not been documented. The species is typically seen in small flocks of up to about eight individuals.<p>The black-headed parrot feeds on seeds, fruit, flowers, and leaves. Flocks eat palm leaves, apparently for their mineral content, and do not visit clay licks.<p>The black-headed parrot's nesting season varies widely across its range. It includes April and May in Venezuela, October and November in Suriname, and spans from December to February in French Guiana. It nests in tree cavities and the clutch size is believed to be two to four eggs. In captivity the incubation period is 25 days and fledging occurs 10 weeks after hatch.<p>The black-headed parrot's flight call is " a high-pitched and penetrating squealing "skeeea .. skeeea" also described as "a wheezy or squealing screech, e.g. 'screeéyr, screeyer-screeyer-screeyer'." It is very vocal when perched, where it makes "a variety of calls, some more musical, others rather un-birdlike".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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