Red-masked Parakeet

Overview

Red-masked Parakeet: Fairly large green parakeet with bright red on head, at bend in wing and on the thighs. White eye ring. Hooked bill is pink-beige in color. Legs and feet are gray. It is considered threatened in its native range of Ecuador and Peru. AKA Red-masked Conure, Cherry-headed Conure.

Range and Habitat

Red-masked Parakeet: In its native range found throughout western Ecuador into northern Peru. Populations of escaped captive birds found in Los Angeles, California. Utilizes a wide variety of lowland habitats with a preference for arid and semiarid scrub and cacti habitats.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Red-masked Parakeet has been the 10th most common neotropical parrot imported into the USA with over 26,000 parakeets checked in from 1981 to 1985.
A feral population is thriving in San Francisco and was documented in the film 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill' based on the book by Mark Bittner.
They were formerly more common in its limited range, and only fairly recently has been reclassified from a species of least concern to a species near threatened.
A group of parakeets are collectively known as a "chatter" and a "flock" of parakeets.

The Red-masked Parakeet has a small range, confined to its native nations of Ecuador and Peru. This bird prefers subtropical or tropical forest and dry savanna ecosystems. The global population of this bird is likely over 10,000 individuals but shows signs of decline that necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Red-masked Parakeet is Near Threatened.