The Brown-hooded Parrot (Pyrilia haematotis) is a small parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 which is a resident breeding species from southeastern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to north-western Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. Until recently, it was placed in the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Pionopsitta, which now is restricted to the type species, the Pileated Parrot

Pileated Parrot

The Pileated Parrot , also known as the Red-capped Parrot , is a medium-small species of parrot with a total length of about 22 cm . It is found in or near Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, far north-eastern Argentina, and eastern Paraguay...

. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Rose-faced Parrot

Rose-faced Parrot

The Rose-faced Parrot is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with theBrown-hooded Parrot , and was formerly placed in Pionopsitta which is now monotypic...

 (P. pulchra). This species has been adversely affected by deforestation.

It is found in lowlands and foothills locally up to 1600 m altitude in forest canopy and edges, and adjacent semi-open woodland and second growth. The white egg

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

s are laid in an unlined nest, usually a natural cavity in a tree.

Description

The Brown-hooded Parrot is 21 cm long and weighs 165 g. The adult has a brown head and neck, darker on the face, especially in males, and a red ear-patch. The rest of the body is mainly green, with an olive tone to the breast. The wings have blue outer primaries and red linings which show well in flight, and the tail has reddish sides The eye-ring and bill are pale. Young birds are similar to the adults, but paler, duller, and without red on the head.

Behaviour

The Brown-hooded Parrot feeds in pairs or small flocks of up to 15 birds, taking various seeds and fruits, including fig

Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...

s, from trees and epiphyte

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

s. It can be difficult to see when feeding since it is slow-moving, usually silent, and keeps in the canopy.

Its flight call is a rolling kereek, and when perched it has a variety of social gurgles and squeaks.