Black-headed Parrot

Pionites melanocephalus

The black-headed parrot (Pionites melanocephalus ; sometimes incorrectly Pionites melanocephala), also known as the black-headed caique, black-capped parrot or pallid parrot (for P. m. pallidus), is one of the four species in the genus Pionites of the family Psittacidae; the other species being Pionites leucogaster (green-thighed parrot), Pionites xanthomerius (black-legged parrot), and Pionites xanthurus (yellow-tailed parrot).It is found in forest (especially, but not exclusively, humid) and nearby wooded habitats in the Amazon north of the Amazon River and west of the Ucayali River in Brazil, northern Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is generally fairly common and occurs in many protected areas throughout its range.

It is most often found in pairs or small noisy flocks of up to ten individuals, but sometimes up to 30. In the wild, they eat mostly flowers, pulp, and seeds and possibly insects.