General Information

The Blue-headed Parrot also known as the Blue-headed Pionus a medium to large sized parrot.

Physical Description

The Blue-headed Parrot is about 27 cm long and weighs 245 g. It is mainly green with a blue head, neck and upper breast. It has a red under-tail and some yellow on the wing coverts. The sexes are alike, but juvenile birds have less blue on the head, as well as red or pinkish feathers around the Ceres. They molt into their adult plumage at about 8 months of age, but it can take up to two years for the full blue hood to emerge.

Diet

It feeds on fruits, berries, seeds, blossoms, corn, and bananas. The parrot, however, can't eat avocados or fruit pits.

Habitat

It is a resident breeding bird in tropical Central and South America, from Costa Rica and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Brazil. Its habitat is forest and semi-open country, including cultivated areas as well.

Reproduction

The breeding season is October to May depending on location. They will nest in hollow limbs and tree cavities laying three to six white eggs in an unlined nest.