Caique | Miles To The Wild

The Black-headed Parrot (Pionites melanocephalus ; sometimes incorrectly Pionites melanocephala), also known as the Black-headed Caique, Black-capped Parrot or Pallid Parrot (for P. m. pallidus), is one of the two species in the genus Pionites of the Psittacidae family; the other species being the allopatric White-bellied Parrot.

I was extremely lucky to see one in the wild in Ecuador at a distance.

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It is found in forest (especially, but not exclusively, humid) and nearby wooded habitats in the Amazon north of the Amazon River and west of the Ucayali River in Brazil, northern Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is generally fairly common and occurs in many protected areas throughout its range. I saw this one at the Canopy Tower of Napo Wildlife Center and the guide said we were very lucky as they are hard to spot! You could also try eco-lodges near Manaus and Iquitos.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACK-HEADED PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

VIDEOS

Such a cutie taking a bath in the grass!

Love is in the air with this nesting pair!

Along with the parrot clay licks, a visit to the canopy tower will be a highlight of your trip to Napo Wildlife Center. Our visit which was pretty typical involved the usual 5am wake up call (I set my alarm for 4am otherwise I couldn’t eat breakfast so early), a breakfast buffet, then off in the paddleboat across the lake. From there it’s about half a kilometer to the canopy tower through thick rainforest habitat. It’s really exciting to get our first glimpse of the tower!

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It’s a long slog up the stairs to the top. DSCN1790 DSCN1796

The view is awesome! We were lucky our guide had a scope as many of the birds were at quite a distance. I struggled to find them with my own camera even after the guide had them in the scope. DSCN1733 DSCN1714

Let’s start with some mammals, here’s a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth who was there for our whole visit. DSCN1726 DSCN1721a DSCN1756a DSCN1858a

Howler Monkeys IMG_3928a DSCN1735a

Plumbeous Pigeon DSCN1718a

Slate-coloured Hawk DSCN1731a

White-thoated Toucan DSCN1737a DSCN1739a IMG_3942a

Many-banded Aracari IMG_4085a DSCN1748a DSCN1752a DSCN1833a DSCN1835a DSCN1837a

Russet-backed Oropendula DSCN1803a

Crimson-crested Woodpecker DSCN1767a IMG_3975a

Those tiny specs are Cobalt-winged Parakeets. I told them to come to the clay lick tomorrow and bring all their friends!

Scarlet Macaws IMG_3995a IMG_4000a

White Hawk IMG_4055a IMG_3943a DSCN1820

Orange-winged Amazon Parrots IMG_3947a

Look closely, what could that tiny blue speck be?

Maybe a Plum-throated Cotinga?

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Or a Spangled Cotinga? DSCN1802

I called this the “Cotinga Tree” because we had both Spangled Cotingas and Plum-throated Cotingas showing up there. IMG_4025a IMG_3992a IMG_4070a IMG_4066a IMG_4064a IMG_4060a DSCN1809a DSCN1804a DSCN1843 DSCN1843a

This White Hawk was pretty far away and a good spot by our guide. DSCN1846a

This Squirrel Cuckoo was pretty close. IMG_4088a

And this shows why you need a really good guide with a really good scope. Do you see anything in this unedited photo?

What if I zoom in and crop out the cute little Black-headed Parrot (Caique)? IMG_4033a IMG_4040a IMG_4050a DSCN1840 DSCN1840a DSCN1868

I practically had to be dragged off the tower kicking and screaming as the birding was so awesome! Back down on the ground, we had a leisurely walk back to the paddleboat. DSCN1877