Dusk Parrot

1 Dusk Parrot Breed Overview

The Dusk Parrot mainly inhabits forest belts, coastal lowland woodlands, sparsely treed plains, and sometimes feeds in farmland. It is distributed across northern South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil. Before the late 1970s the Dusk Parrot was very scarce in aviculture; only from the 1980s to 1990s did larger numbers of wild birds begin to be exported from Guyana to Europe. However, wild Dusk Parrots have extremely high mortality—most imported into Europe survived only weeks or months even if they lived at all—so numbers remain low. Severe deforestation and habitat destruction have greatly reduced wild populations, and captive numbers internationally are also small. They mainly inhabit lowland rainforest, humid forests in hilly areas, coastal woodlands, tropical savannas, and farmland, and dislike open, cleared land. In Venezuela they occur from sea level to 1000 m, while along the Venezuela–Colombia border they are found at 1200–1800 m. They are gregarious, especially outside the breeding season, when flocks are commonly seen foraging among branches.

Chinese Name: Dusk Parrot

Scientific Name: Pionus fuscus

Also known as: Dusky Parrot, Dusky-headed? (Dusky Parrot)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves (Birds)

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Genus: Pionus

Species: Pionus fuscus

Subspecies: None

Named by and year: Müller, 1776

English Name: Dusk Parrot

2 Physical Characteristics of the Dusk Parrot

The Dusk Parrot is a small Pionus parrot, relatively noisy and less tolerant of other parrots. Among the four other common Pionus species, the Dusky Parrot is comparatively rare. Its plumage is duller than the Bronze-winged Parrot, dominated by dark red and grayish brown. Although it looks black in poor light, both the Dusky and Bronze-winged parrots show their special beauty only under good lighting. A simple way to tell them apart: the Dusky Parrot has a black beak with a yellow patch on the upper mandible, unlike the Bronze-winged Parrot whose beak is entirely pale yellow. The Dusky Parrot has no subspecies. Distributed in the more northern Amazon basin, it is widespread.

The Dusk Parrot is a small Pionus parrot, 24 cm long and weighing 200–212 g. Among the four other common Pionus species, it is comparatively rare. Its plumage is duller than the Bronze-winged Parrot, dominated by dark red and grayish brown. Although it looks black in dim light, the Dusky Parrot’s special coloring only shows its beauty under bright light. A simple identification method: the Dusky Parrot has a black beak with a yellow patch on the upper mandible, unlike the Bronze-winged Parrot’s entirely pale-yellow beak. The Dusky Parrot has no subspecies. Its naturally dark plumage has also earned it the nickname ‘small parrot hawk.’ The English name ‘Dusky’ expresses its subtle iridescent quality in low light. Its Japanese name, Sumire Inkō, means ‘violet (light purple) parrot.’

3 Dusk Parrot Care Characteristics

The Dusky Parrot is a very cute and charming member of the Pionus genus, and the least common Pionus apart from the three rare species—Coral-billed Pionus, Plum-crowned Pionus, and White-headed Pionus. Many think they look like small falcons. Like typical Pionus parrots, the Dusk Parrot has a quiet, friendly, and gentle personality, making it very suitable as a household pet. It is gregarious, especially outside the breeding season when flocks are commonly seen foraging among branches.

Because its range is wide and it does not approach the vulnerable-endangered threshold (distribution or fluctuation range under 20,000 km², habitat quality, population size, or fragmentation), and its population trend is stable, it is assessed as a species with no survival crisis. However, the Dusk Parrot is listed in the IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 as Least Concern (LC).

4 Dusk Parrot Living Environment

When first introduced, the Dusk Parrot is shy and sensitive but gradually adapts. Like other Pionus parrots, pay attention to environmental hygiene during keeping to prevent respiratory disease from mold infection. They need adequate vitamin A, because Pionus parrots deficient in vitamin A often develop digestive, respiratory, and eye diseases, so daily vitamin A intake is very important. Because captive numbers are small, breeding success is uncommon; the breeding aviary should not be too small, or obesity may result. During breeding, supplement protein and vitamin A. Normally 3–5 eggs are laid per clutch, incubation about 26–28 days, and chicks fledge at about 70–80 days; one pair may breed two or three times a year. The Dusk Parrot mainly inhabits lowland rainforest, humid forests in hilly areas, coastal woodlands, tropical savannas, and farmland, and dislikes open, cleared land.

Before the late 1970s the Dusk Parrot was very scarce in aviculture; only from the 1980s to 1990s did larger numbers of wild birds begin to be exported from Guyana to Europe. However, wild Dusk Parrots have extremely high mortality—most imported into Europe survived only weeks or months even if they lived—so numbers remain low. Severe deforestation and habitat destruction have greatly reduced wild populations, and international captive numbers are also small.

5 Dusk Parrot Feeding Requirements

When first introduced, the Dusk Parrot is shy and sensitive but gradually adapts. Like other Pionus parrots, pay attention to environmental hygiene during keeping to prevent respiratory disease from mold infection. They need adequate vitamin A, because Pionus parrots deficient in vitamin A often develop digestive, respiratory, and eye diseases, so daily vitamin A intake is very important. Because captive numbers are small, breeding success is uncommon; the breeding aviary should not be too small, or obesity may result. During breeding, supplement protein and vitamin A. Normally 3–5 eggs per clutch, incubation about 26–28 days, chicks fledge at about 70–80 days; one pair may breed two or three times a year. The Dusk Parrot mainly inhabits lowland rainforest, humid forests in hilly areas, coastal woodlands, tropical savannas, and farmland, and dislikes open, cleared land.

Before the late 1970s the Dusk Parrot was very scarce in aviculture; only from the 1980s to 1990s did larger numbers of wild birds begin to be exported from Guyana to Europe. However, wild Dusk Parrots have extremely high mortality—most imported into Europe survived only weeks or months even if they lived—so numbers remain low. Severe deforestation and habitat destruction have greatly reduced wild populations, and international captive numbers are also small.