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White-crowned PionusWhite-capped Parrot ~ White-crowned Parrot Family: Psittacidae
Besides having a very affectionate and gentle nature, the White-Crowned Pionus has incredible colors, as Falicia is demonstrating above!
The White-crowned Pionus, also know as the White-capped Pionus or White-capped Parrot, is a popular pet and relatively common in captivity. They are a delight to own! Once they are established they make a very docile parrot that is calm and undemanding. They are very sweet and affectionate. These intelligent and curious little birds do have a somewhat stronger personality than most other Pionus species, but with good attention they can make fabulous family pets! They are quick to learn and can be taught a variety of tricks. Although they are rather quiet and shy they do have some talking ability. For information about the care of Pionus Parrots see:
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Distribution:
These birds are native to Central America from southwestern
Mexico to western Panama.
Description:
The White-crowned Pionus, also know as the White-capped Pionus
or White-capped Parrot, is one of the smaller of the Pionus species. They
are a small to medium size parrot with a wonderful personality.
They are generally green with a paler and more yellowish
green on the underside. True to their name, they have a white cap on their
forehead as well as a white patch under their chin and throat. The rest
of the head is blue and the breast has olive-brown feathers edged with
darker purplish-blues, gradually turning green across the abdomen. They
sport a variety of colors on the tops of the wings from golden browns,
violet-blues, blues, to greens and the underwing is a bluish green moving
to a dull green. The tail is green tipped with blue and blue on the outside
with the undertail having the bright red feathers distinguishable to all
the pionus. The beak is a horn color, the eye is dark brown to orangish
circled by a light pinkish-white eye ring, and they have pink legs.
Juveniles are paler in color, have much less white on the
cap, and very little or no blue on the head.
Size - Weight:
These birds are a smaller Pionus and grow to a length of
9" (24 cm).
Care and feeding:
A roomy cage is required unless the bird is to be let out for extended
periods. Many birds can spend a good deal of their time on a play pen
or parrot perch. They do enjoy showering.
They eat a variety of seeds, fruits, berries, and greenstuffs.
Including a formulated diet would also be beneficial.
See About Pionus: Housing and About Pionus: Care and Feeding for more information.
Social Behaviors:
In the wild they are generally seen small flocks of up to
about 15 birds. These birds tame very easily and are very sociable. They
are not loud like many conures and amazons. They have very steady personalities
and do not tend to bite.
See About Pionus: Social Behaviors for information on developing a well rounded pionus.
Breeding/Reproduction:
There is no visible means of sexing these birds. They are
successfully breed in captivity. Place a nest box high up in a dark area
of the aviary. The female will lay up to 5 eggs which incubate for about
26 days. Pairs may take mealworms and greenstuffs when they have chicks
in the nest. Corncob is a favorite weaning food. The young leave the nest
by the time they are eight weeks old.
See About Pionus: Breeding/Reproduction for more information on breeding.
Potential Problems:
The White-crowned Pionus is a relatively healthy bird, though
the Pionus parrots have been known to be more susceptible to the infection
aspergillosis than other species. The main symptom is heavy, belabored
breathing.
See About Pionus: Potential Problems for information on health.
Availability:
This bird is available from time to time. They are becoming increasingly
popular and are widely kept.
The other two most frequently available pionus are the Maximilian's Pionus, and the Blue-headed Pionus.
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Comments from people who have kept this pet:
I have a White Capped Pionus whose name is Abigail Anne. She is 14 years old and I have had her since she was 5 weeks old. She is very sweet to me although she is not real thrilled about other people. We have been through much together. She went through a period of snapping her feathers and the vet put her on an anti-anxiety med which helped. I think she liked the sound also. She likes to snap the threads on my t shirts when she is on me, so I now give her my old white socks (I weave them into the bars of her cage next to a perch) she enjoys shredding them. She also enjoys eating a variety of foods, I give her mixed veggies and fruit every day. She also LOVES pasta and looks like she has a growth on her beak when she is digging into a dish of her favorite - spaghetti! She is a joy to have although she does "call" for me if I leave the room she is in. Parrots are a lot of work, but if you have the time to invest, they are a real joy.
I have a white cap pionus named Snow. Snow is 11 months now and is the best thing. Snow already says a couple of phrases such as "up up" when she wants to be picked up and she always calls for PaPa. They are the best pets for apartments and get along with others pets.
I have a white-crowned pionus named Ted. He is 5 years old. Up until 1 week ago he was perfectly healthy (or appeared so). However he now has a virus (respiratory) and has become very ill (almost died). I have always had a problem with his diet being inadequate because he won't eat or try anything but seeds. He is under a vet's care and I am feeding him hand rearing formula but I am looking for tips and recipes to make his diet more varied and to get his weight back up to normal. I love my guy and when he is well he is a delight.
I have had my little "CHICO" my White Cap Pionus parrot for about 9 months now and he/she (not sure of the sex yet) is quite the joy to have around. They truly are exceptional little birds. Already Chico can say his name and mimics sounds. I was lucky enough to have found a hand fed baby and visited him since he was 2 months old at the breeder before I brought him home. I think that made a real difference in the bonding. Chico always looks to me as "Mom" even though he will go to other people I am his number one human! When I am tired and stressed from work I know Chico can cheer me up. This is my first parrot and I am so very pleased with my little companion. Before I brought him home I got rid of all non-stick cookware and only use Method cleaning products because they are more natural and hopefully less toxic. To sum it up the White Cap Pionus is truly a unique baby full of silly quirks and temperments. My pretty little Chico is a wonderful bird!
strawberries are a bad idea, they are the fruit with the most pesticides of any fruit.
I have a White Capped Pionus who is spunky, friendly,and that loves to play. He is my baby. Even though I am 11 years old I would love to have at least 2 more of these fantastic birds. My bird,Remy,loves taking showers with me and is very talkitive knowing 20-30 words and phrases. I would recommend this bird for young couples and older maturer children like 9-adult. He can be very moody at times but, usaully very friendly.
Some of the coolest comments:
I have a one year old White Crowned/Capped Parrot that was given to me by a friend in Honduras who farms and found the little guy after a dead tree had been cut down. Ricky (the parrot) lives with me at my retirement home in Siguatepeque Honduras and I successfully hand-raised him from what I figure was an age of 2 weeks. I fed him a mixture of water and corn flour, mixed to a thin paste and drawn up into a amall hypodermic (without needle of course). I would place the syringe totally inside the mouth and he would then take it garther in hinself and I would press the mix directly down the throat, he thrived and has always been very healthy. When grown these birds LOVE corn, fresh corn on the cob, just pull the shuck leaves back and use them to tie the piece to the cage (or perch). Fresh corn on the cob is considered to be essential at least once a week for an adult bird by the locals. This is a favorite parrot of local Hondurans and they have taught me a couple of things about them and their ability to speak, that I do not find elsewhere. They say to NEVER feed them anything with salt on it, OR the bird will never speak! Also at 8 months they begin to feed the bird a drop or two of liquor on a piece of tortilla daily, or provide a small cup of fruit wine twice a week. This bird in the wild starts consuming naturally fermented fruit at this age and does so periodically throughout its lifetime. Without this addition to their diet they will never speak well. My little guy is already doing various whistles, calling 3 people in the family by name and is becoming more talkative daily. He started talking one month after I started giving him fruit wine. The wine I am using is a pineapple and mango based wine, but I would think that nay tropical fruit based wine would do. I love my little friend and am glad to share this information on increasing their talkativeness. Remember that these people have been raising and loving these birds for hundreds of years and I trust what they know and have shared with me. They recommend to never cage this particular type parrot, or if necessary a large cage where they can have lots of activity.
Author: Clarice Brough, CAS
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