Black Headed Caiques (pronounced ka-eek)

Latin name (Pionites Melanocephala) Vital Statistics Body length: approx 7-9 Inches Body weight: 135-190 Gms Life span: 30-40 years

Appearance:

They are extremely colourful little birds with black crowns, napes, and foreheads. Their bill is also blackish, and the periopthalmic ring is dark grey like the feet. The iris is red. Black-headed Caiques have orange cheeks, throats, thighs and flanks. Their undersides are a creamy white colour, and the undersides of their tails are yellow-orange and olive yellow. Black-headed Caiques' primaries and primary coverts are a deep violet or purple-blue colour, and the upper sides of their tails have feathers tipped in yellow. A medium-size parrot 7 - 9 inches from head to the tip of the tail. Caiques are stockier and have a shorter, more blunt tail than other parrots.

Personality:

This delightful species is quite playful! Caiques love to play and be mischievous. They are very intelligent and can learn a variety of tricks! and they especially love to show off, and posture by strutting about importantly to establish their dominance.

Their exceptional playfulness begs for a partner, and for those not interested in breeding, two females can do quite well together. A particularly amusing behaviour is their habit of hopping rather rapidly across almost any surface, which gives them the look of a wind-up toy. Be sure your bird has many toys and perches in its cage to keep it amused. They are precocious and very sociable, affectionate and cuddly birds and are able to find companionship with many members of the family, rather than bond with just one person as other parrots will do.

Be warned Caiques can be very stubborn. Be sure you can handle the high energy of one of these fellows if considering one as a pet. They Need confident handling. When raised correctly and handled firmly, Black-headed Caiques are fun friends!

If Black-headed Caiques are kept in a cage, they will need lots of exercise and playtime- getting a playpen is suggested! Be sure your bird has many toys and perches in his cage to keep him amused. They eat fruits, berries, and seeds, they love to play and bathe, and need many leafy green branches for chewing.

Age at maturity:

2-3 years

Talking Ability:

Low

Noise Level:

Moderate to loud

Cage Size:

Minimum 24" x 24" with bar spacing 5/8" to 3/4"