Psittaciformes - Pionopsitta

South American Pileated Parrot - Pionopsitta Pileata - Least Concern

The South American pileated parrot, also known as the red-capped parrot (leading to easy confusion with the Australian Purpureicephalus spurius), is a medium-small species of parrot with a total length of about 22 cm (8.7 in). It is found in or near the Atlantic Forest in south-eastern Brazil, far north-eastern Argentina and eastern Paraguay. A local name in Paraguayan Guaraní is cúiu cúiu.

Unlike all other species previously placed in the genus Pionopsitta, the pileated parrot does not have a contrasting brownish-olive chest, and recently it was established via mtDNA that it is indeed distinct enough for the others to be moved into a separate genus, Pyrilia, again making Pionopsitta monotypic. The plumage of the pileated parrot is overall green with bluish flight feathers, a faint brownish-maroon auricular patch (lacking in juveniles) and, in the male, a bright red forehead that extends down to just below the eyes.