White-crowned Parrot, Pionus senilis

White-crowned Parrot, Pionus senilis. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California, taken within the greater Puerta Vallarta area, Guerrero, March 2014.

The White-crowned Parrot, Pionus senilis, is a member of the Psittacidae Family of New World and African Parrots. They are small in stature. In Mexico they are found in lowlands and foothills within the Atlantic Slope in the coastal regions from the State of Veracruz southward to Belize southward along Atlantic slope excluding the Yucatán Peninsula, at elevations below 1,600 m (5,250 feet). They are sexually dimorphic with males being more intensely colored than females. From a conservation perspective the White-crowned Parrot is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in the forest canopy, normally well concealed. They feed in groups of 30 to 50 individuals and consume fruits and nuts in the forest and fruits and grains from agricultural areas.