Lilac-crowned Parrot

Overview

Lilac-crowned Parrot: Medium green parrot, pale purple crown, red forehead. In flight shows blue-black trim on flight feathers and large red patch on secondaries. Hooked bill is dull yellow. Legs, feet are blue-gray. Feeds on fruits and seeds. Native to pacific coastal Mexico. AKA Finsch's Amazon.

Range and Habitat

Lilac-crowned Parrot: Inhabits forested slopes and mountains along nearly the full length of western Mexico, but populations are seriously diminished due to deforestation and the pet trade. Small numbers of escaped cage birds are now established in Los Angeles, California, south Texas, and Florida.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Lilac-crowned Parrot is also known as the Finsch's Amazon.
The species name commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Otto Finsch, who initially distinguished it as a breed distinct from the Blue-fronted Amazon.
This species has a small population which is declining rapidly due to exploitation and habitat loss. It has disappeared from 37% of the localities where it was historically recorded. The estimated remaining population is 7,000 - 10,000.
A group of parrots has many collective nouns, including a "company", "pandemonium", "prattle", and "psittacosis" of parrots.

The Lilac-crowned Parrot has a small range, confined to the Pacific coast of Mexico, to which it is native. This bird prefers subtropical and tropical forest ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at only 7,000 to 10,000 individuals and has significantly decreased over time due to poaching, necessitating inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Lilac-crowned Parrot is Decreasing.