Saffron-headed Parrot

Pyrilia pyrilia

The saffron-headed parrot (Pyrilia pyrilia) is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It was previously placed in the genus Pionopsitta, but moved out, as it is not as close to the type species Pionopsitta pileata as it was believed. It was briefly placed in Gypopsitta, but this is a junior synonym of Pyrilia and thus the saffron-headed parrot is now placed in the latter genus.

It is found in Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and possibly Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It has some tolerance to habitat alteration, depending on woodland but not being restricted to primary forest .The saffron-headed parrot is becoming rare due by habitat loss. It was considered to be noticeably declining and thus uplisted to vulnerable in the 2000 IUCN Red List. Since then, it has been found to be more common than previously believed—though still becoming rarer—with robust populations in some places (e.g., the Serranía de las Quinchas of Colombia) and thus it was downlisted from vulnerable to near-threatened in the 2007 IUCN Red List.