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Caiques are native to tropical South America east of the Andes Mountains. They inhabit both tropical forest and savanna where they are more often heard than seen because they usually keep to the treetops. They tend to prefer drier areas and avoid the flooded portions of the rain forest. They are frequently encountered along smaller streams and waterways. An escaped bird has been reported near the Miami airport (Florida State listing of exotics), but no feral breeding populations are known outside South America. P. m. pallida is found more in southern Columbia and north east Ecuador (Traylor, 1958) and the western range north of the River, while P. m. melanocephala is found north east of the River. P. l. leucogaster is found south east of the River, while P. l. xanthomeria is found south west of it. The rare yellow-tailed, P. l. xanthus, is only found in a few river valleys of western Brazil. Exactly where is unknown.

Haverschmidt reported caiques were common in the forests and sand ridges, savanna forests and forests of the interior of Surinam in 1968. Hilty and Brown report that they are numerous in the humid terre firme forest and forest edge especially in the blackwater regions of Columbia. If you are adventuresome and wish to observe the birds in the wild, Nigel Wheatley (1995) wrote a book listing a number of locations across Amazonia where you can observe caiques as well as many other bird species. If you are less adventuresome and still want to see caiques in the wild, there are several lodges and tours advertised on the internet that cater to bird watchers. The websites often include a list of birds sighted near the lodge, but there are no guarantees that you will see them within the limited time of your visit.

One thing you will see in the wild that captive birds are not usually permitted are flocks in unrestricted flight. Flight behavior is one thing I know little about. One of the sad necessities is that I must keep my parrots’ wings clipped. My breeder pairs are able to fly, but they seldom do even when outside their cages. Some aviaries, including the National Aviary in Pittsburgh have exhibits in which caiques are able to fly unrestricted within the exhibit hall. Reports on flight behavior in the wild (Whitney, 1996), generally indicate they travel in pairs or groups of less than eight birds. They are reported to fly rapidly with little rolling. In flight, their feathers make a distinctive whirring sound especially just after taking to the air. They are also reported to scream and make other high pitched sounds during flight.

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