Talking Hawk-headed Parrot
Talking Hawk-headed Parrot. The hawk-headed parrot is a colorful bird. Its back, wings and tail are green, and its breast, belly, vent and base of its neck are covered with gray and red feathers, edged in blue. The underside of the tail feathers is black. The bird’s forehead is a creamy white mixed with brown. When scared or excited, hawk-headed parrots can erect their nape feathers, forming a fan above their heads. This display plumage is unique among New World parrots.
- Species: Deroptyus accipitrinus
- Other names: Red-fan
- Vocabulary: 10 words
- Lifespan: 30-35 years
Adults have yellow eyes, a gray bill and black feet, while juveniles have brown eyes and a light-colored bill. Hawk-headed parrots can most frequently be seen perching on high, bare branches displaying their long tails and colorful plumage. Males and females lack sexual dimorphism, meaning they appear identical. Buy Talking Hawk-headed Parrot.
Hawk-headed parrots are playful, cuddly, affectionate and active birds that show a low to moderate talking potential. They love to interact with their owners.
Only a few of the individuals speak and when they do the voice is soft and whisper-like. The little guys are sometimes really moody and mischievous.
Pros:
- They are unique, attractive and lively.
Cons:
- Frequent interaction with owners is needed.
- Can get really aggressive so they are definitely not good for beginner bird keepers.
- Parrots are beautiful, vocal and expressive birds who are great entertainers. But unfortunately, they are the most abandoned pets by their owners. Many people want to keep parrots because of their exotic-ness and talking ability but fail to calculate the amount of time, affection and money they will need to put for the care of their talking feathery friends. To keep a parrot you need to be really obsessive about them and be willing to keep them even if they fail to talk or be a good pet.
Size
Hawk-headed parrots are much smaller than other common Amazonian parrots. Birds in the Psittacidae family range in length from 4-40 inches (10-100 centimeters). The hawk-headed parrot is 12-14 inches (30-35 centimeters) long and weighs up to 10.5 ounces (300 grams).
Native Habitat
Communication
Hawk-headed parrots produce a unique range of vocalizations.
Food/Eating Habits
These parrots are intelligent and creative, with the ability to solve puzzles when foraging for their food. They eat guavas, Inga fruits, berries, seeds, nuts, buds and leaves.
At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, they eat pellets and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Keepers train the birds using small pieces of fruit and peanuts.
They are social and are usually found in pairs or small groups of three to seven birds.
Hawk-headed parrots begin their mating season in December. From December to January, larger foraging flocks separate into nesting pairs. They are monogamous and often select life-long mating partners before they reach sexually maturity. In courtship, male hawk-headed parrots produce musical whistles and bugle-like sounds while flashing their head feathers and bobbing their heads. The female also raises her crest feathers, and both males and females weave their heads from side to side.
The nesting season takes place between January and March but varies by region and in some places extends to June. The female lays one to three medium-sized, white eggs in the nest cavity. Hawk-headed parrot parents often use the same nest cavity in an abandoned tree hole for years and may be seen resting in their nest hollow year-round.
The female rarely leaves the nest while incubating her eggs for about 26 days. During this time, the male cares for her. Chicks hatch blind and featherless with pink skin. At first, chicks are helpless. Both parents help feed and raise the young. Wild chicks fledge at 10-12 weeks old.
Lifespan
In human care, these birds have been known to live into their early 30s