Pionopsitta pileata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The South American pileated parrot (Pionopsitta pileata) is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It was formerly known as the red-capped parrot, easily leading to confusion with the Australian Purpureicephalus spurius that bears that English name.
The pileated parrot is the only member of genus Pionopsitta and has no subspecies. However, what are now the seven species in genus Pyrilia were for a long period included in Pionopsitta. A local name for the pileated parrot in Brazilian Portuguese is "cuiú cuiú".
The pileated parrot is 20 to 22 cm (7.9 to 8.7 in) long and weighs 98 to 120 g (3.5 to 4.2 oz). Adults have an essentially all green body, with a yellowish abdomen. Their primaries, primary coverts, and the edges and tips of their tail feathers are dull blue. Males have a red forehead, crown, lores, and upper ear coverts. Females do not have any red but do have a faint blue wash on the forehead and breast. Immature males have less red on the head than adults, and females have less blue on the wings. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pileated Parrot sighting in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, based on 116 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 181st most-seen of the 352 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–August and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pileated Parrot in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pileated Parrot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Pileated Parrot sightings, Itatiaia National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, under 5%).
Same family: Psittacidae
The closest relatives of the Pileated Parrot that you can see in Itatiaia National Park (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Maroon-bellied Parakeet (about 60%), White-eyed Parakeet (about 50%) and Scaly-headed Parrot (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pileated Parrot is recorded against all the birds logged in Itatiaia National Park (116 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
