Red-crowned Parrot

Overview

Red-crowned Parrot: Medium parrot, dark-scaled, green upperparts and pale green underparts. Bright red forehead, crown, lores. Sides of neck are violet blue. First five outer secondaries are red with violet blue tips; primaries are black and slightly tinged with dark blue on tips. Yellow-pink bill.

Range and Habitat

Red-crowned Parrot: Native to northeastern Mexico in pine-oak ridges and tropical forests of canyons. Feral populations are established in southern California, Texas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Florida.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Red-crowned Parrot was first described in 1853 by John Cassin, an American ornithologist.
It is also known as the Red-crowned Amazon, Green-cheeked Amazon, and Mexican Red-headed Parrot.
The current native wild population of between 1,000 and 2,000 is decreasing. The main threats to its survival are the illegal export of trapped birds from Mexico to the USA, and the destruction of habitat.
A group of parrots has many collective nouns, including a "company", "pandemonium", "prattle", and "psittacosis" of parrots.

The Red-crowned Parrot has a small range, confined to a portion of northeast Mexico, though it has been introduced to Puerto Rico and the United States. This bird prefers subtropical or tropical forest ecosystems, though it can live on pastureland. The global population of this bird is estimated at 3,000 to 6,500 individuals and shows signs of decline in both size and habitat that necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Red-Crowned Parrot is Endangered.