This medium-sized parakeet ranges through the Andes of southern Ecuador and Peru. Red on the forehead and thighs and bare white eye-rings are conspicuous. It can also be found in fields and orchards as well as forest habitats.
Adults of the nominate subspecies have red on the forehead, lores and area around the eyes, thighs, and bend of the wing; the bare eye-ring is white, and the bill is pale horn to pinkish. The central-Andes subspecies minor is smaller and darker overall.
It is seen in social groups, usually smaller ones but sometimes reported in flocks of up to several hundred. It feeds in the canopy on fruits, nuts, and seeds. Cliffs are used for communal roosting and nesting, while the detailed wild diet and breeding biology remain poorly known.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.