Bird Guide

Blue-headed Parrot vs Monk Parakeet

Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus)

Blue-headed Parrot

Pionus menstruus

Medium251 gForest

The blue-headed parrot is about 28 cm (11 in) long and weighs 245 g (8.6 oz). It is mainly green with a blue head, neck and upper breast, red undertail coverts, and some yellowish on the wing coverts. The upper mandible is black with reddish areas on both sides. They have dark ear patches.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Ricardo Sánchez · CC BY 2.0
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)

Monk Parakeet

Myiopsitta monachus

Medium120 gUrban

The nominate subspecies of this parrot is 29 cm (11 in) long on average, with a 48-centimetre (19 in) wingspan, and weighs 100 g (3.5 oz). Females tend to be 10–20% smaller, but can only be reliably sexed by DNA or feather testing. Monk parakeets display very subtle sexual dimorphism in the colouration of their crown and wing coverts, but this is not noticeable to the human eye. It has bright-green upperparts. The forehead and breast are pale grey with darker scalloping and the rest of the underparts are very light-green to yellow. The remiges are dark blue, and the tail is long and tapering.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Tanguy Loïs · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Joaquín Krasuk · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-headed Parrot and Monk Parakeet.