white breast and belly; yellow head and thighs (Zoo; 2011-11-27)


White bellied Parrot (or Caique)
Pionites leucogaster

Native Range: South America

Notes: a rather small noisy parrot that flies through neotropical rainforests in pairs or small groups; diet consists of fruits, seeds, and berries; has a strong bill and is able to crack open even tough nuts; like all psittaciformes, it has zygodactyl feet, meaning that two of its toes point forward and the other two toes point backward; this is one of two species of "caique" parrots that by definition are in the genus Pionites (the other is the Black-headed parrot, P. melanocephalus).

dorsal view; bright green upperparts (Zoo; 2011-11-27)
mated pair; no sexual dimorphism (Zoo; 2011-11-27)

ventral view (Zoo; 2011-11-27)
rotates head and exudes lots of personality (Zoo; 2011-11-27)

showing off its dextrous zygodactyl foot (Zoo; 2011-11-27)
preening while taking a sun bath (Zoo; 2011-11-27)

pair posing; note the light-colored bills (Zoo; 2011-11-27)
posing for a portrait; red iris and pale pink around eye (Zoo; 2011-11-27)

with his kissing cousin, the Black-headed Parrot (Pet store ; 2012-07-02)
posing for a body portrait (Pet store ; 2013-04-20)