Saffron-headed Parrot

Overview

The saffron-headed parrot (Pyrilia pyrilia) is a Near Threatened species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is monotypic within its genus and restricted to parts of South America.

Identification

• Size of 22 to 24 cm with an almost entirely yellow head and neck in adults.
• Ring of bare white skin around the eye, with brown feathers around it and on the lores and nares, plus a red wash behind the eye.
• Olive breast, green body, yellow shoulders, red carpals and flanks, yellow lower thighs, blackish primaries, and dusky blue tail tips.
• Most common calls are a shrieking 'cureek' or 'queek', and piercing, hoarse-sounding calls from perches.

Habitat

Found in Panama's eastern Darién Province, in north and central Colombia, and in northwestern Venezuela. It inhabits the interior and edges of humid to wet forest, both primary and secondary, usually at elevations below about 900 m, and may occur seasonally in cloudforest up to 1,650 m.

Did you know?

The most severe threat to the species is the loss and degradation of its forest habitat, with altitudes it favours coinciding with those most attractive for agriculture and human settlement.