Chordates • Earth.com

White-crowned parrot

(Pionus senilis)

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Description

The white-crowned parrot (Pionus senilis), also known as the white-crowned pionus in aviculture, is a small parrot which is a resident breeding species from eastern Mexico to western Panama. 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 3-6 white eggs are laid in an unlined nest, usually a natural cavity in a tree or a hollow palm stub. The Pionus parrots includes the white-crowned, white-capped, dusky, blue-headed, bronze-winged, Maximilian, red-billed, and plum-crowned Pionus. They are native to Central and South America. Among the eight species, the white-crowned Pionus is the rarest of the Pionus species. The white-crowned parrot inhabits the Caribbean slope in Central America from southeast Mexico to western Panama. They are found in southeastern Mexico from southern Tamaulipas and eastern San Luis Potosí through Campeche and Quintana Roo to Costa Rica, and on both slopes (Chiriquí and western Bocas del Toro) in western Panama. Although this species is distributed over a broad area, its highest abundance is in Costa Rica. The population is still considered stable despite being hunted for food, crop pest, bird trade, and its habitat being deforested. Their habitat is a humid tropical zone of forest and woodland with local growth of pine-oak trees and savanna. They are more commonly found in the lowlands and foothills of the Caribbean slope but have also been reported from forest edge and cultivated areas with pastures, scattered trees, and wooded streams. The major food sources include ripening seeds, palm fruits, crops.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Aves
Order:Psittaciformes
Family:Psittacidae
Genus:Pionus
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