Scaly-headed Parrot

Overview

The scaly-headed parrot, Pionus maximiliani, is a species of bird in the family Psittacidae found in South America. It is also known as the scaly-headed pionus, Maximilian parrot, or by the Brazilian names cocotas and maritacas. The species is currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though its population is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Adults of the nominate subspecies have a blackish brown forehead and mid-crown, with the rest of the head and upper back appearing dark greenish bronze; feather edges create an eponymous scaly effect.
• Features arcs of bare white skin above and below the eye, with the lower back and wings being dull green with lighter scaling.
• The throat and upper breast are dull blue, transitioning to a yellowish green belly, while the undertail coverts and tail base are red; inner tail feathers are green and outer ones blue.
• The call is described as a "cacophony of very high, shrill 'teer-teer-teer--'" or a repeated bisyllabic "cra-cheh", along with various conversational calls given while perched.

Habitat

Found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay, the species inhabits a variety of landscapes that vary geographically. In the north and west, it favors deciduous and gallery forest in the dry caatinga and Chaco, while in the southeast it occupies more humid evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, including those dominated by Araucaria. Elevations range from 1,500 to 1,600 m in Brazil and up to 2,000 m in Argentina.

Diet

The scaly-headed parrot feeds on the seeds, flowers, and fruit of a wide variety of plants.

Did you know?

Feral scaly-headed parrots have been observed breeding in the parks of Málaga, Spain since 2017. In one notable instance, a female scaly-headed parrot successfully raised hybrid offspring with a male orange-winged amazon (Amazona amazonica).