The Bronze-winged Parrot (Pionus chalcopterus) is a medium sized pionus parrot 28 cm (11 in) long. It is a short-tailed stocky parrot found in the NE Andes from Venezuela and Colombia through NW Peru.

Description

It is mainly dark with a whitish chin patch and its upper chest is speckled with pink feathers. It has short red undertail feathers. The rump, tail and wings are dark blue with lighter blue underwings. The head is dark blue-green; the mantle, back and underparts are dark bronze-green with some blue tipped feathers and sometimes scattered red feathers. Its beak is pale yellow. In adults the ring of bare skin around the eyes is pink. Juveniles have whitish eyerings and their underparts are brownish.

Taxonomy

There are two subspecies:

• P. c. chalcopterus: Venezula and most of Colombia.
• P. b. cyanescens: SW Colombia, Ecuador, N Peru. Broader blue margins on feathers, chin patch and surrounding ring smaller and less distinct.

Range Side view

The Bronze-winged Parrot is mainly found from 1,200-2,400m (extreme range 200-2,800m) in the NE Andes from Venezuela and Colombia through NW Peru. It is seen in pairs of small groups of up to ten birds.

Breeding

The Bronze-winged Parrot nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three to four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 26 days and the chicks leave the nest about 70 days after hatching.