White-crowned parrot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-crowned parrot |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| At Macaw Mountain Bird Park, Honduras | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Genus: | Pionus |
| Species: |
P. senilis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pionus senilis (Spix, 1824)
|
|
 |
|
| Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist. | |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The white-crowned parrot (Pionus senilis) is a small parrot found from eastern Mexico to western Panama. People who keep birds sometimes call it the white-crowned pionus.
These parrots live in lowlands and hills, sometimes up to 1600 meters high. They like forest tops, forest edges, and open woodlands. Females lay 3 to 6 white eggs in a tree hole or a hollow palm tree.
The white-crowned parrot is about 24 centimeters (9.4 inches) long and weighs around 220 grams (7.8 ounces). Adult males have a white forehead and crown, which looks like an old man's white hair – that's where its scientific name senilis comes from! Their throat is white, and the rest of their head, neck, and chest are a dull dark blue. Their belly is light green, and their back is dark green with a yellow-olive patch on their shoulders. When they fly, you can see their blue underwings and red feathers near their tail. Females look similar to males, but their blue feathers are less bright on the lower chest, and their shoulder patch is duller. Young birds have less blue on their head and neck, and their crown feathers are green with white edges. The amount of white on their head can be different for each bird, so it doesn't tell you if it's a male or female.
White-crowned parrots often feed in groups of 10 to 50 birds. After nesting, these groups might travel outside their usual breeding areas. They eat different seeds, nuts, and fruits. Sometimes, they can be a problem for farmers by eating corn or sorghum crops, and fruits from plantations. When they are eating, they are usually quiet and stay hidden in the trees. But when they rest, they often sit clearly visible at the top of a palm leaf.
Contents
What Does the White-crowned Parrot Look Like?
The white-crowned parrot is a medium-sized bird, about 24 cm (9.4 inches) long. It has a wide body and a short tail. Its eyes are dark brown with a brownish-pink ring around them. The beak is yellowish with a bit of green.
Its forehead, the top of its head (crown), and the area between its eyes and beak are pure white. It also has a white patch on its chin and the middle of its throat. The belly is mostly green. The feathers on its chest are green at the bottom, with dark blue and purplish-blue tips. This makes them look a bit scaly. The feathers on its cheeks and the back of its neck also have this scaly look, being green with light bluish-green and purplish-blue tips.
The feathers on its back are soft and shiny, with a reddish-brown color. Its shoulder feathers are green, with reddish and yellowish-brown tips. The feathers on its upper wing are violet blue and green. The smaller feathers on its wings are reddish-brown with lighter tips, making the wing look spotty. The lower back and upper tail feathers are a brighter green, and the feathers under its tail are red. The top of its wing has brown patches, and the underside is pale bluish-green. Both male and female parrots look very similar.
Young white-crowned parrots have green heads, necks, and chests, with light yellowish cheeks and crowns.
You can find white-crowned parrots in many places across Mexico and western Panama. Other parrots that look a bit similar include:
- The brown-hooded parrot (Pyrillia haematotis). This bird has a brown head and white areas near its beak, but no white crown or red feathers under its tail. Its body is mostly green, and you can see red feathers under its wings when it flies. It has fast wingbeats and a high-pitched voice.
- The blue-headed parrot (Pionus menstruus). This parrot is mostly green with a bright blue head and neck, red feathers under its tail, and yellowish wing feathers.
White-crowned parrots flap their wings quickly and climb on branches when they eat. They are often seen in pairs or small groups, except when they are nesting. They are very careful and will fly away, making loud screeching sounds, if you get too close. Their voice sounds like "kreeek-kreeek" or "kree-ah-kee-ah" when they fly. But they can become very quiet and hard to notice when they are in the trees.
Where Do White-crowned Parrots Live?
The Pionus family of parrots includes the white-crowned, white-capped, dusky, blue-headed, bronze-winged, Maximilian, red-billed, and plum-crowned Pionus. These parrots are originally from Central and South America. The white-crowned Pionus is the least common of these eight types.
The white-crowned parrot lives on the Caribbean side of Central America, from southeast Mexico to western Panama. You can find them in southeastern Mexico, through Campeche and Quintana Roo to Costa Rica. They are also found on both sides of the mountains in western Panama. Even though they live in a large area, you'll find the most white-crowned parrots in Costa Rica.
Even though people hunt them for food, see them as crop pests, and trade them as pets, and their homes are being cut down, their population is still thought to be stable. They live in humid tropical forests and woodlands, sometimes with pine-oak trees and savannas. They are most often found in lowlands and hills on the Caribbean side. They have also been seen at the edge of forests and in farm areas with grass, scattered trees, and wooded streams. Their main foods are ripening seeds, palm fruits, and farm crops.
Behavior and Life Cycle
Pionus parrots have been kept as pets for a very long time. They are popular companion birds because of their good size and calm nature. However, most parrots still act like they would in the wild. How well they adapt to being a pet can be very different for each bird. If a bird doesn't adapt well, it might develop some behavior problems. Bird owners can help their birds live better lives by understanding how these parrots behave in the wild.
Keeping Pionus Parrots as Pets
Pionus parrots are very social animals, so it's best to keep them in pairs. Two female parrots are usually better than two males, as males can sometimes be more aggressive. Their homes, called aviaries, should be made of strong wire mesh. The aviary should be at least 1.5 times wider than the parrot's wingspan. Parrots need to flap their wings to stay healthy, which keeps their bones strong and helps their heart. So, their home needs to be big enough for them to spread their wings and fly around a bit.
The amount of light and darkness affects a bird's sleep, breeding, and molting (shedding feathers) cycles. Getting enough light and dark helps them sleep well and keeps them healthy, both physically and mentally. It's a good idea to give them 12 hours of quiet and dark time for sleep. You can use a cage cover to make their environment dark for a good sleep cycle.
Keeping Parrots Happy and Busy
When parrots live in a home environment, they need things to keep them busy and encourage different behaviors. This helps prevent them from developing unusual habits. You can do this by providing different types of environmental enrichment, like social, physical, and food-related activities. This is especially important when birds are young.
Social Interaction
Social enrichment means interacting with humans, either by seeing or hearing them. Parrots communicate in many ways, so it's important to understand their signals to have a good relationship with them.
Some signs that a parrot might be upset or aggressive include:
- Turning towards you with its head and neck stretched out.
- Pecking without actually touching.
- Flapping its wings.
- Opening its beak wide.
- Moving quickly sideways.
- Raising the feathers on the back of its neck and making growling sounds.
On the other hand, friendly behaviors include:
- Preening (grooming) each other.
- Feeding each other.
- Spending time close together.
- Blinking in a similar way.
- Stretching one wing and the leg on the same side.
Other behaviors show a bird is being submissive or shy:
- Crouching down.
- Fluffing up its feathers.
- Wagging its head.
- Lifting a foot.
- Trying to avoid you.
Some behaviors can be confusing. For example, a soft grinding sound with their beak usually means they are happy. But a short, sharp beak clicking sound is a warning. Watching these behaviors helps you understand your parrot and build a strong bond. You want your parrot to feel confident, playful, and able to adapt, not scared. If a bird is shy, you can help it feel safer by placing its cage higher up and making eye contact with side glances instead of staring directly.
Training with positive reinforcement is another way to build a good relationship. For example, you can teach your parrot to stay calm when you approach its cage, open the door, reach inside, feed it by hand, or touch its wings, beak, and feet. You can also teach commands like "step up" or "stay." Being consistent with positive reinforcement throughout the parrot's life helps it learn and feel comfortable living with humans.
Staying Active
Occupational enrichment means activities that involve exercise and thinking, like puzzles or being able to control their environment. Parrots in the wild fly long distances. So, daily exercise like flapping, flying, chewing, shredding, climbing, and swinging is important for young birds. Regular exercise helps them use up energy and can reduce unwanted behaviors like screaming or being overly active.
Chewing is another important activity. It helps strengthen their chewing muscles and improves their fine motor skills. You can give them less expensive materials or toys to chew on so they don't chew on their perches, cage covers, or even their own feathers.
Physical Environment
Physical enrichment includes things in the cage, toys, and the home environment. The color, size, shape, and location of food and water dishes can affect a bird's appetite. You can put favorite foods in less common spots, like the cage floor, and new foods near their favorite perches to encourage them to try new things.
Perches are very important. They should be different sizes and made of different materials. Perches that offer good grip and are a bit rough help keep their claws from growing too long and allow them to clean and shape their beaks. Manzanita wood with sand is a popular choice because it's hard to destroy and has a nice texture for chewing. Having perches of different thicknesses helps exercise their feet and legs. Natural, non-toxic branches and fruit tree branches that haven't been sprayed with pesticides are safe choices.
Toys also vary in size, material, and how suitable they are for young birds to play with on their own. Toys can be for chewing, climbing, or solving puzzles. They also give birds something else to focus their energy on, which can help with aggression. While toys are great, don't overcrowd the cage, as this can limit space for exercise.
Where you place the cage in your home can affect how comfortable the bird feels. A cage with a solid wall on at least one side is good for shy birds, as it gives them a place to hide. Wooden or cardboard boxes inside the cage can also provide extra security. On the other hand, confident and social birds might prefer to be in the middle of the home's activity. Be careful not to place the cage near windows where the bird might see predators like hawks or dogs, as this can scare them.
Using Their Senses
Sensory enrichment involves things they see, hear, touch, smell, or taste. This helps their brain develop and prevents them from being afraid of new things. Parrots can see fluorescent and ultraviolet light, which might affect what colors they like. Many parrots have favorite colors, which can help you choose toys or introduce new foods. For example, you might avoid placing the cage near furniture or walls that are colors your bird dislikes or that might make it scared. Other visual enrichment can include mirrors, television, or videos for birds that are home alone to reduce boredom. For auditory enrichment, music and nature sounds are good. Birds often enjoy higher-pitched, fast-paced music.
Food and Foraging
Nutritional enrichment involves how food is given, prepared, and presented, and opportunities for foraging. It's good to offer a wide variety of foods when a parrot is young, even if its main diet meets all its nutritional needs. This helps them be open to more food options as adults. It's a good idea to offer new foods at least three times a week.
Encouraging foraging (searching for food) for pet birds is important because wild birds spend a lot of time, often more than half their waking hours, looking for food. For pet birds, you can provide foraging opportunities by hiding food in containers or toys, putting food in puzzle toys, or scattering food with non-food items. This can also help birds that are afraid of new foods by associating the foraging containers with food.
Common Health Issues
Pionus parrots can get certain health problems. Here are a few:
Skin Growths (Xanthomas)
Xanthomas are yellowish-orange lumps or thickened areas on the skin. They can also grow inside the body. They usually appear when a bird is around 10 years old, but can show up between 3 and 30 years. Treatment involves surgery to remove them, along with changes to the bird's diet, depending on where the growth is.
Pionus parrots can also get infections in their breathing, heart, and digestive systems, often from a fungus called Aspergillus. Young Pionus parrots that are hand-fed are more likely to get a yeast infection called candidiasis if their feeding equipment isn't clean. A bacterial infection called Chlamydophila is also common in Pionus birds in Central and South America.
 | Anna J. Cooper |
 | Mary McLeod Bethune |
 | Lillie Mae Bradford |
