Black-headed Parrot
Pionites melanocephalus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPsittaciformes (Parrots)
- FamilyPsittacidae (New World and African Parrots)
- GenusPionites (Caiques)
- SpeciesPionites melanocephalus (Black-headed Parrot)
About the Black-headed Parrot
The black-headed parrot (Pionites melanocephalus; sometimes incorrectly Pionites melanocephala) is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. Other colloquial names are black-crowned parrot, black-capped parrot, black-headed caique, and for subspecies P. m. pallidus, pallid caique. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
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... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Black-headed Parrot in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve
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Aratinga leucophthalma
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 6 | Canaima National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 7 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Black-headed Parrot in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Parrot sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, based on 1,088 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Black-headed Parrot in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?
October has the highest sighting rate for Black-headed Parrot in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in our monthly data.