Pionus Blue Headed basic information

The Blue Headed Pionus is not sexual dimorphic and therefore will need either DNA or surgical sexing to distinguish males from females. They have a uniformly colored green plumage on their bodies and striking bright blue plumage that covers their necks and heads. They also have some pink feather bases on the plumage the covers their necks, but this is more pronounced in the subspecies P. m. rubrigularis (Paler Blue-headed Parrot). P. m. rubrigularis also has a duller head color, making them easier to distinguish. They can be distinguished by the third subspecies P. m. reichenowi, because P. m. reichenowi (Reichenow's Blue-headed Parrot) lacks pink throat feathers entirely, and they also have darker blue plumage. Like other Pionus species they have red feathers underneath their tails. They have dark grey legs and feet, and red markings on their mandibles. Immatures may be distinguished by the fact that they have very little blue plumage on their heads. They will reach full coloring by 2 years, though after the first molt they usually have a significant increase in blue color. Blue Headed Parrots are medium sized, averaging 11 inches (27.5 centimeters) in length.