Hawk-headed Parrot
Also known as:
Red-fan Parrot, Hawk-headed Caique, Northern Red-fan Parrot, Southern Red-fan Parrot
Also known as:
Red-fan Parrot, Hawk-headed Caique, Northern Red-fan Parrot, Southern Red-fan Parrot
DID YOU KNOW?
In fear, aggression or playful behaviour the Hawk-headed Parrot will raise the feathers on its nape to form a fearsome looking fan, to make itself appear bigger.
Size:
35 cm (13.6 in)
Weight:
190-277 g (6.6-9.7 oz)
Subspecies including nominate:
two: D.a. accipitrinus, D.a. fuscifrons
Colour Adult:
D.a. accipitrinus: Both adults forehead and crown soft white; dark brown lores; feathers of occiput and sides of head brown, streaked with soft white; long feathers of hindneck dark red, edged with blue; upperparts and lower underparts green; breast and abdomen dark red, strongly scalloped with blue; tail green with hidden maroon at base. Beak grey/black. Eye ring grey, eye yellow.
D.a. fuscifrons: Both adults forehead and crown dusty brown, faintly streaked soft white; maroon at base of tail absent.
Colour Juvenile:
Forehead cream/buff; crown brown, streaked cream/buff; area towards hindcrown washed with green; scalloping on breast green/blue. Beak paler grey with horn-coloured spots at base and cutting edge. Eye ring grey/white, eye grey.
Call:
Chacking sounds, high-pitched squealing noises. Variety of chattering and whistling notes at rest. Courtship bugling and musical whistles. Some calls resemble those of the Black-headed Caique (Pionites melanocephala).
More Information:
Content Sources:
CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989. 2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Captive Status:
Fairly common
Longevity:
About 30 yrs.
Housing:
Walk-in enclosure, minimum length 3 m (9.8 ft).
Diet:
Fruit such as: apple, pear, orange, cactus fruits, pomegranate, etc, forming about 30 percent of diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green peas and beans, fresh corn; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, dandelion; spray millet, small seed mixture with limited oily and sunflower seed; cooked beans or pulses, and complete kibble.
Enrichment:
Toys to wrestle and hang upside down with, ladders, swings, puzzle toys, bird-safe wood and leather chew toys.
Nest Box Size:
—
Clutch Size:
2 to 4
Fledging Age:
9 weeks
Hatch Weight:
—
Peak Weight:
—
Weaning Weight:
—
World Population:
Unknown, decreasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Some regional decline in E of range due to widespread deforestation; threatened by wild-bird trade, which often results in high mortality. Is considered to have a high dependency on forest and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 10.3% within its range over the past three generations. It is therefore tentatively suspected that this may have led to a decline of between 1-19% in the species’ population over the same period, with a best estimate of 11-14%.
Range:
D.a. accipitrinus: North of Amazon River from Amapa, NE Brazil and Guianas to E Venezuela, in NE Bolivar and probably SW Amazonas, SE Colombia, in E Vichada and south of Rio Guaviare in Guainia and Vaupes, SE Ecuador, in S Pastaza and northern Morona-Santiago, and NE Peru, along Rio Pastaza in Loreto.
D.a. fuscifrons: South of Amazon River, in N Brazil from northwestern Maranhao west to upper Rio Madeira and tributaries, and south to upper reaches of Rios Tapajos and Xingu, N Mato Grosso and possibly N Bolivia.
Habitat:
Found in lowland rainforest, prefering terra firme formations, like gently undulating or foothill terrain. Up to 400 m (1312 ft).
Wild Diet:
Feeds on leaves and buds of Bombacopsis, unripe fruits of Dialium sp., fruits of Euterpe, Attalea sp and Jessenia, fagifolia, Astrocaryum sp. Also leaves of Spondias mombin, seeds of Jacaranda copeia, Caraipa densiflora, Licarria alba, pulp and seeds of Tetragastris, fruit of Ocatea globifera and Dialium guianense. Also takes Inga and guava in cultivated areas.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Not very gregarious, occuring in pairs or small groups of 3-4. Roosts in tree crowns in small groups, possibly singly in tree cavities. Mainly feeds in canopy.
Clutch and Egg Size:
2 to 4 ovate to elliptical eggs, 36.0 x 26.0 mm (1.4 x 1 in).
Breeding Season:
February-June, Venezuela; January-April in the Guianas; December-February, Brazil. Nest is in tree cavity.
Related Links:
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