[4] The International Ornithological Committee and the Clements taxonomy attribute the first description of the cobalt-winged parakeet to August von Pelzeln, dated 1870.

Pelzeln called it Sittace cyanoptera and separated it from what is now the orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis).

Adults of the nominate subspecies B. c. cyanoptera have a yellowish forehead, an orange chin, and a blue tinge on their crown and nape.

B. c. beniensis is paler than the nominate with a similar amount of blue on its head and a yellow carpal edge like gustavi.

[9][10] The cobalt-winged parakeet's breeding season is not well known but apparently includes June and July in the western part of its range.

The cobalt-winged parakeet's common calls are " a high-pitched “klee”, shrill “chree” or bisyllabic “chree-chree”" that are given both when perched and in flight.