parrot fauna of the aba area, 2003

A Current LookThe Parrot Fauna of the ABA Area:A Current Look

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The ABA Area is hardly synony-mous with parrots, having har-bored only one breeding species, thelong-extinct Carolina Parakeet(Conuropsis carolinensis), with an-other, the Thick-billed Parrot (Rhyn-chopsitta pachyrhyncha) that formerlyoccurred marginally at our southwest-ern border with Mexico. Yet Florida,once the stronghold of the nominatesubspecies of the Carolina Parakeet(McKinley 1985), now is home towhat may be the greatest diversity ofexotic (non-native) parrots in theworld, and California (which neverhad naturally-occurring parrots) cur-rently has at least ten breedingspecies. Throw in the three speciesbreeding in south Texas and popula-tions of the Monk Parakeet (Myiop-sitta monachus) in at least seven addi-tional states, and parrots are clearly,for better or worse, a part of the avi-fauna of the ABA checklist area.

Awareness of the diversity and pop-ulation sizes of parrots in the ABAArea has been slow to surface. Theprimary reason for this obliviousnessis that few observers have been willingto conduct studies in urban areas, al-though results of several studies havebeen published recently, and otherstudies are underway. Difficulties offield identification have largely beenalleviated with the publication ofthree new or revised field guides toNorth American birds in the past fewyears. Because so many species of par-rots have been seen at liberty in theABA Area over the past 30+ years, andbecause most parrot populations are

so unstable, only those species with atleast fairly large extant populationswill be discussed. All of these speciesare known to be breeding currently, orthey bred previously, still occur, andpresumably still are breeding.

Our goal, then, is to summarize thebasic status and distribution of parrotsin the continental United States, and toprovide field identification informationthat goes beyond the brief text in stan-dard field guides. We first consider thethree states that host the most natural-ized parrot speciesFlorida, California,and Texas; then, we provide some gen-eral pointers on parrot identification;next, there follows a set of brief speciesaccounts and finally a review of parrottreatments in the most popular NorthAmerican field guides. Throughout, wetouch on some of the special challengesand difficulties of understandingpsittacid identification and biology inthe ABA Area (see Fig. 1). In a futurearticle, to appear in the journal NorthAmerican Birds, we shall treat in greaterdetail the matter of psittacid status anddistribution in the continental U.S.

FloridaSince the early 1970s, 74 species ofexotic parrots have been reported out-side of captivity in Florida (Robertsonand Woolfenden 1992, Stevenson andAnderson 1994, Pranty 2001a). How-ever, populations of most of thesespecies have been limited to no morethan a few individuals that persistedbriefly before they died out or wererecaptured. Based on current knowl-edge, 19 species are known or pre-

ADVANCES IN IDENTIFICATION

by Bill Pranty and

Kimball L. Garrett

Avian Ecology Lab

Archbold Biological Station

123 Main Drive

Venus FL 33960

[email protected]

BP is a North American Birds regional

editor for Florida and the author of

A Birders Guide to Florida (ABA).

Natural History Museum

of Los Angeles County

Section of Birds

900 Exposition Boulevard

Los Angeles CA 90007

[email protected]

KLG is the Ornithology Collections Manager

at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

and a member of the ABA Checklist Committee.

The Parrot Fauna of the ABA Area:A Current Look

W W W . A M E R I C A N B I R D I N G . O R G 249

sumed to be breeding in the state. Allbut two of these are found in thesoutheastern region, amid the vastmetropolitan areas of Fort Lauderdaleand Miami. Only three species amongFloridas varied parrot fauna are ABA-countable in the state: the Budgerigar(Melopsittacus undulatus),the Monk Parakeet, and theWhite-winged Parakeet(Brotogeris versicolurus).Breeding populations ofABA-countable Green Para-keet (Aratinga holochlora)and Red-crowned Parrot(Amazona viridigenalis) alsoare found, but these areconsidered non-establishedby the Florida Ornithologi-cal Society Records Com-mittee (Bowman 2000).(The ABA Checklist doesnot specify in which statescountable exotics can becounted; this informationmust be gleaned from localbird records committeesalthough criteria for deter-mining establishment differgreatly among committees).

Monk Parakeets numberin the thousands of individ-uals statewide, with manyhundreds of Black-hoodedParakeets statewide (Nan-dayus nenday) and severalhundred White-winged Parakeets,Yellow-chevroned Parakeets (Bro-togeris chiriri), and Red-crowned Par-rots at Fort Lauderdale and Miami.Breeding or presumed-breeding popu-lations numbering in the dozens tolow hundreds of individuals of eightother species also occur: the Budgeri-gar, Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittaculakrameri), Blue-crowned Parakeet(Aratinga acuticaudata), Mitred Para-keet (Aratinga mitrata), Red-maskedParakeet (Aratinga erythrogenys),Dusky-headed Parakeet (Aratingaweddellii), Chestnut-fronted Macaw(Ara severa), and Orange-winged Par-rot (Amazona amazonica). Several ad-

ditional species occur in small num-bers. These are include Green Para-keet, White-eyed Parakeet (Aratingaleucophthalmus), Blue-and-yellowMacaw (Ara ararauna), White-frontedParrot (Amazona albifrons), Blue-fronted Parrot (Amazona aestiva), Yel-

low-headed Parrot (Amazona oratrix),and Yellow-naped Parrot (Amazonaauropalliata). All but the Yellow-headed Parrot are known to be breed-ing in the region at present. Withoutexception, parrots in Florida are re-stricted to urban and suburban areasplanted largely with exotic vegetation;native habitats are avoided. Effects ofparrot foraging on commercial tropi-cal fruit groves in southeasternFlorida remain largely unstudied.

CaliforniaThe status and distribution of Califor-nia parrot populations was summa-rized by Garrett (1997) and updated

by Garrett and Mabb (2002). TheRed-crowned Parrot, the most numer-ous parrot species in California, is theonly one that has been added to thestate list by the California BirdRecords Committee. Significant popu-lations (>100 individuals) of Rose-

ringed, Mitred, Red-masked, Black-hooded, and Yellow-chevroned Para-keets and Lilac-crowned Parrots(Amazona finschi) also occur, alongwith nearly 100 Blue-crowned Para-keets. A small and declining popula-tion of Yellow-headed Parrots occursin the greater Los Angeles area, and afew pairs of Red-lored Parrots (Ama-zona autumnalis), Blue-fronted Par-rots, and White-fronted Parrots alsobreed. The White-winged Parakeet,now greatly outnumbered by the Yel-low-chevroned, maintains small pop-ulations in San Francisco and insouthern Los Angeles County (Gar-rett 1993, Pranty and Voren 2003).

Fig. 1. In this photograph from east-central Florida, a Red-masked Parakeet shares a perch in a native Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera)with a Blue-crowned Parakeet. Both species are native to South America, but their natural ranges are hundreds of miles apart. However,naturally allopatric parrot populations such as these co-existand in rare cases, interbreedin the foreign environments of southernCalifornia and southern Florida. JETTY MARITIME PARK, FLORIDA; 2 DECEMBER 2001. CINDY RADAMAKER.

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Most parrots are found in urbanand suburban areas of Los Angeles,Orange, and San Diego counties onthe southern coast, but the Bakers-field and San Francisco Bay areas alsohost some parrot species. As inFlorida, parrot activity is centered indeveloped habitats dominated by ex-otic flora.

TexasThe Texas Bird Records Committeehas accepted Red-crowned Parrot andGreen Parakeet to the state list (TBRC2003), along with Monk Parakeet andthe extinct Carolina Parakeet. It is

possible that some birds in the Texaspopulations of Red-crowned Parrotsand Green Parakeets have colonizednaturally from northeastern Mexico,but this hypothesis is unproven. BothAOU (1998) and ABA (2002) treatthese two species as exotics in Texas.Populations of Red-crowned Parrotsand Green Parakeets are found inmost urban and suburban areas of theLower Rio Grande Valley, and theynumber from the hundreds to the lowthousands of individuals (Dunn et al.1999); other parrot species are some-times noted in small numbers amongthese flocks.

Fig. 2. Flight silhouettes of the major parrot groups likely to be encountered in the ABA Area. ADAPTED FROM WHITNEY (1996) AND WHITNEY ET AL. (2002); ILLUSTRATION KIMBALL L. GARRETT.

A (left). Aratinga (Nandayus and Myiopsitta are basically similar) is a genus of medium-small to medium-large parakeets (or conures) with long, pointed tails.Their bills are moderate tolarge, giving a more front-heavy look than in Psittacula.They fly with rapid, continuous, and fairly shallow wingbeats, with the wings bowed slightly below the body plane; they rarely glide.There is some side-to-side body-twisting in flight. Species differences involve overall size, the color and pattern of the head, the pattern of the underwings, and the amount of covert/flightfeather contrast on the wing. Macaws (Ara and related genera) are similar but larger, with wingbeats that are slower, deeper, and more measured (strikingly so in the largest species).

B (upper center). The Rose-ringed Parakeet, genus Psittacula, is a medium-large parakeet with a markedly long and slender tail (much longer than in any Aratinga, unless the tailfeathers are broken). It looks relatively small-headed, thus not appearing front-heavy.The wingbeats are deeper and more sweeping than those of Aratinga.The overall lime-green coloris distinctive, compared with our deeper-green Aratingas.

C (right). Parrots, or amazons, of the genus Amazona are medium-to-large psittacids that appear large-headed and markedly front-heavy in flight; the tail is squared and moderatelyshort.The flight is distinctive, with the wings bowed well downward, and with stiff, continuous, duck-like wingbeats; although the wingbeats are fast, overall flight speed is slower thanin Aratinga. Species differences lie mainly in overall size, relative tail length, and color; all are predominantly green, but note the presence, absence, and precise location of other colors onthe head, presence or absence of red/orange in the secondaries and primary coverts, and color at the base of the outer pairs of rectrices.

D (lower center). The small parakeets of the genus Brotogeris have moderately long, pointed tails.Their flight is quite distinctive vis a vis our other ABA-area parrots, with several rapidbeats, followed by a brief closure of the bowed wings.The flight is rapid but appears halting and undulating because of the wing closures and the side-to-side twisting of the body. Inflight, the White-winged is easily distinguished from the Yellow-chevroned by the conspicuous white in its inner primaries and outer secondaries; both species show a yellow patch onthe upper wing coverts, usually striking in flight.

IdentificationCurrent taxonomy accepts 352 extantspecies of parrots in the world; 12others are recently extinct (Clements2000). At least 76 species have beenreported in the wild in the U.S., withall but two of these being exotics.Most of the exotics fall into one of sixprimary parrot types. Three of thesetypes are rare and can be quicklydiscussed. First are the cockatoos,which are large, short-tailed, mostlyall-white or all-blackish parrots thatare native to Australia and tropical is-lands in the Pacific Ocean. Individu-als of several species of white cocka-

A

B

D

C


toos (Cacatua spp.) occasionally areobserved in the wild in the U.S., butthey die quickly or are recaptured.Second are the lories and lorikeets(primarily Eos, Trichoglossus, and Lo-rius spp.), which are small, long-tailed, gaudy, red, blue, or green par-rots also from the tropical Pacific. In-dividual lories or lorikeets also maybe seen occasionally, but they eventu-ally disappear. Third, the lovebirds(Agapornis spp.) are tiny African par-rots with short tails; they often havereddish bills. Very popular as cagebirds, lovebirds are seen rather oftenoutside of captivity, often as avicul-tural color morphs. Escaped lovebirdsin North America typically do notsurvive long, although an as-yet non-countable population of Peach-facedLovebirds (A. roseicollis) is found inthe Phoenix, Arizona, area (Jones andRosenberg 2000, Kaufman 2000, AOU2002), and a smaller population hasrecently been reported south of SanLuis Obispo, California (T.A. Edell,personal communication).

Two Australian parrots occurring inthe ABA Area do not fit neatly intoany of these categories. The Budgeri-gar is a very small, slender parakeet;the wild type birds are green andyellow with fine black barring. TheCockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) is alarger gray bird with a yellow face anda wispy crest, orange cheek patch, andwhite upperwing coverts; beware that

flying cockatiels can bear an uncannyresemblance to White-winged Doves(Zenaida asiatica). Both of these par-rots are bred extensively by avicultur-ists, and numerous artificial colormorphs exist.

Our only other well-established OldWorld parrot is the Rose-ringed Para-keet. It superficially resembles theNew World Aratinga parakeets, but itis more slender, finer-billed, andlonger-tailed. Like others in its genus,the Rose-ringed has a red bill.

Discussion of the three other pri-mary types of parrots will take upthe remainder of this article. Fieldidentification of parrots should startwith establishing the type (generally,the genus) to which the bird belongs(Fig. 2). General shape, size, flightstyle, and vocalizations are importantcharacters to use in identifying a par-rot to genus; indispensable for genericidentificationof New Worldparrots are thepaper by Whit-ney (1996)and the book-let accompany-ing the Voicesof New WorldParrots CDset (Whitneyet al. 2002).Additional in-formation rele-

vant to field identification is found(albeit erratically) in the parrotmonographs by Juniper and Parr(1998) and Forshaw (1977), as wellas in some North American fieldguides (see below).

These three groups are native to theNew World, from Mexico throughsouthern South America. First, wehave the parakeets (Aratinga, Bro-togeris, Myiopsitta, and Nandayusspp.), which are medium-sized par-rots with long, pointed tails andmostly green plumages. They oftenhave red markings on the head,breast, and shoulders. Those in thegenus Aratinga (called conures inthe pet trade) have conspicuous whiteor pale orbital rings. Second are themacaws (Ara spp.), which usually aresomewhat larger to greatly larger thanparakeets. They are similar in appear-ance, but they have large patches of

bare skin on theface. Large macawshave body colors ofblue, yellow, or red,while the smallermacaws are mostlygreen. Third are theparrots (Amazonaspp.; amazons inthe pet trade),which are large,bulky psittacidswith short,rounded tails.

Species Accounts In the species accounts below, wepresent information only for the con-tinental U.S., i.e., the parrot fauna ofHawaii is not discussed. For speciesnot listed by AOU (1998, 2000,2002), we use Clements (2000) fornomenclature. ABA-countable speciesare marked with a dagger ().

Budgerigar(Melopsittacus undulatus)

Native Range: Woodlands and farm-

lands in thearid interior ofAustralia.

U.S. Range:ABA-countablein west-centralFlorida, nowrestricted tocoastal areas inHernando andPasco counties (Hernando Beachsouth to Holiday; Pranty 2001b). Fre-quent escapees are noted throughoutNorth America, but these rarely, if

ever, establish localpopulations.

Identification:Budgerigars aresmall parakeetsthat have been bredin captivity for over150 years. Theirnatural plumageconsists of yellow-

ish-green underparts and yellow up-perparts with black scalloping; theface, throat, and chin are yellow. Thetail is blue, and a pale wing stripe is

Fig. 3. The familiar Australian Budgerigar (theBudgie of aviculture) is well-known to all birders, buta bewildering array of domestic color morphs exists andmay escape almost anywhere at any time.This individ-ual represents the wild phenotype, which is easilydistinguished from other parrots in the ABA Area by itssmall size, tiny bill, and barred back and wing coverts.HERNANDO BEACH, FLORIDA; 5 APRIL 2000. PETER S.WEBER.

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visible in flight. Avicultural varietiesmay be white, blue, yellow, or a com-bination of these colors. The voice isa series of pleasant chirps.

Notes: The Florida population mayhave exceeded 20,000 individuals bythe late 1970s, but it declined byabout 99% by the mid-1990s. About150200 Budgerigars remained inFlorida at the end of 2000 (Pranty2001b), and numbers may be contin-uing to decline (K. Tracey, personalcommunication).

Rose-ringed Parakeet(Psittacula krameri)

Native Range: Moist lowland forestsand savannas in two widely separateregions: central Africa and southernAsia.

U.S. Range: Included in the mainlist of the AOU Check-list (AOU1998) based on Florida occurrences,but considered non-established in thestate by the Florida OrnithologicalSociety Records Committee (Bowman

2000) and by ABA (2002). The onlyknown Florida populations of anysize are at Fort Myers and Naples. Atleast 227 parakeets were believed tobe present at Naples in November2001 (B. Pranty, personal observa-tion), while 30 were found at FortMyers in December 2002 (CBC data).A breeding population at Miami(Owre 1973) apparently died outmore than ten years ago. In Califor-nia, a population of up to 900 indi-viduals occurs in the Central Valleycity of Bakersfield (Garrett and Mabb2002; A. Sheehey, personal communi-cation), and at least two populations,each with 2040 birds, occur in thegreater Los Angeles area.

Identification: A large parakeet withan extremely long, slender, tail. Theplumage is almost wholly light-green.Adult males have a black chin andthroat that forms a collar; this mark islacking in females and young males.On the nape, the collar is pink, suf-fused with lilac. The bill is mostlyrose. The voice is rather unparrotlike,consisting of high, shrill notes, in-cluding a flicker-like kew. Rose-ringedParakeets observed at Miami in the1970s were of the Indian subspeciesmanillensis (Owre 1973), and individ-uals in California are either manillen-sis or borealisanother Indian sub-species (Garrett 1997).

Monk Parakeet(Myiopsitta monachus)

Native Range: Dry open or woodedhabitats in southern South America.

U.S. Range: ABA-countable in atleast eight states, with escapees seenin many others. The ABA ChecklistCommittee (ABA 2002) expressed alack of enthusiasm for acceptingsmall populations [of exotic birds]that may depend on visits to feedersunder severe conditions for survival,a situation that describes the MonkParakeet in many northern states. Onthe 20012002 CBCs, 4,253 MonkParakeets were seen on 41 CBCs inthe U.S. Of these, 3,015 individuals

Fig. 4. This adult male Rose-ringed Parakeet clearly shows the black chin and pink-and-lilac-tinged collar; femalesand young males are similar but lack these head markings. Rose-ringeds are slender parrots with long, thin tails.Thered orbital ring and pale eye are unlike those of any of our Aratinga parakeets.The Blue-crowned Parakeet, whose pink-ish-red upper mandible and black lower mandible suggests Rose-ringed, differs in having an obvious pale bare orbitalring, and it always lacks a collar. BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA; MARCH 2002. BOB STEELE.

Fig. 5 The Monk Parakeets pale gray-foreparts (lightlybarred on the breast) and pinkish bill easily tell it fromother ABA-area parrots. In flight, the dark, blue-tinged pri-maries and secondaries contrast with the bright green wingcoverts and body. HOUSTON,TEXAS; JUNE 1999. ALAN MURPHY.


were found in Florida, 908 in Con-necticut, and the remainder in Illi-nois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon,and Texas (CBC data).

Identification: Monk Parakeets areamong the easiest of psittacids toidentify. They are medium-sized para-keets with pale greenish upperparts,including the tail; the primaries areblue. The forepart of the head is palegray, and the upper breast is pale graywith darker scalloping. The lowerbreast is pale yellow, and the bellyand undertail coverts are pale green.The bill is flesh-colored. The commonflight call is a grating, slightly risinggraaaa or chape.

Notes: The Monk Parakeet is theonly psittacid that builds large sticknests (used year-round for roosting)in palms, other trees, and manmadestructures. North American popula-tions of Monk Parakeets are increas-ing rapidly (Van Bael and Pruett-Jones1996, Pranty 2002). The subspecificidentity or identities of the MonkParakeets in the U.S. have not beenwell studied.

Black-hooded Parakeet(Nandayus nenday)

Native Range: Lowland savannas,palm groves, and ranchlands fromsouthwestern Brazil to northern Ar-gentina.

U.S. Range: Currently non-counta-ble but seemingly established inFlorida, where it is the second-mostnumerous and widespread psittacid.About 900 individuals occur in thestate, with two-thirds of these alongthe central Gulf coast and the remain-der at Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers,Miami, and elsewhere (Pranty andLovell in review). Numbers onFlorida CBCs have increased signifi-cantly since the early 1980s (Pranty2002). The California population isestimated at about 200 birds (Garrettand Mabb 2002), with the largestgroup found along the Los AngelesCounty coast from Pacific Palisades toMalibu.

Identification: Easy to identify. Thefrontal portion of the head is sooty-black, as is the bill. The upper breastis washed with azure, and feather-ing on the legs is bright red. Thedark-blue remiges contrast in flightwith the bright green wing coverts.Calls are grating screeches, lackingany nasal quality.

Notes: One of the most commonparrots captured for the pet trade;over 200,000 were imported intothe U.S. between 1968 and 1990(Garrett 1997, Juniper and Parr1998). Most common in Florida atSt. Petersburg; 355 were foundwithin that CBC circle in Decem-ber 2000. In California, this is oneof the few parrots to nest (at leastoccasionally) in native sycamorewoodlands.

Green Parakeet(Aratinga holochlora)

Native Range: Mexico (fromTamaulipas, southern Nuevo Leon,and southwestern Chihuahuasouth to Chiapas), with three re-lated taxa (accorded species status

by Howell and Webb 1995, del Hoyoet al. 1997, Clements 2000) occurringelsewhere in Central America.

Fig. 6. The Black-hooded Parakeet, a close relative of theAratinga parakeets, is our only parrot with a black face and bill.The light-blue breast and red thighs (just visible here andmost prominent on adults) are additional unique characters. Inflight, Black-hooded Parakeets (or Nanday Conures) showstrong contrast between the blue-black flight feathers and thegreen coverts. KENDALL, FLORIDA; AUGUST 2002. LARRY MANFREDI.

Fig. 7. The Green Parakeet is a medium-to-small Aratinga with few distinctive plumage features. ABA-area birdsappear to be from the northeastern nominate subspecies, which is entirely green but which may show a few scatteredorange-red feathers on the head and breast. Unlike the Mitred and Red-masked Parakeets, they lack any patches ofred on the forehead and crown; they show no red on the underwing coverts.The orbital ring may be grayish, whitish,or flushed with vinaceous-red. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA; 21 JANUARY 2001. BILL PRANTY.

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U.S. Range: Southernmost Texas,where several hundred to over a thou-sand occur in most urban areas andeven in smaller towns in the LowerRio Grande Valley (Dunn et al. 1999).The species has been accepted to theTexas list (TBRC 2003). Small popu-lations also occur in Florida at FortLauderdale and Miami (Pranty andEpps 2002; S. Epps, personal commu-nication; CBC data).

Identification: All green, but oftenwith a few scattered orange-red feath-

ers on the head and breast.Orbital ring color apparentlyvaries from white or beige toreddish. Calls are harsh andsqueaky. Individuals from theCentral American population(Red-throated Parakeet, A.[h]. rubritorquis) have red-dish or orangish throatpatches; one was pho-tographed at Fort Lauderdalein 2001 (Pranty and Epps2002).

Notes: The Green Para-keets status in Texas is com-plicated by the possibility ofnaturally occurring strays

from nearby Tamaulipas and NuevoLeon. It is not known at presentwhether any of the Texas birds are ofnatural origin.

Blue-crowned Parakeet(Aratinga acuticaudata)

Native Range: Lowland forests,deserts, palm groves, and pampas inthree widely separated regions ofSouth America.

U.S. Range: Apparently most nu-merous at Fort Lauderdale, where

perhaps 100 individuals are found(Pranty and Epps 2002). Smallerflocks are found in Brevard, Manatee,and Pinellas Counties (B. Pranty, per-sonal observation; H. Bechtel, L. Sny-der, and D. Goodwin, personal com-munications). Up to 40 were found inthe Upper Keys in the early 1990s(CBC data), but there have been norecent reports. In California, smallgroups in urban San Francisco and inLos Angeles, Orange, and San DiegoCounties total about 95 birds (Garrettand Mabb 2002).

Identification: Plumage entirely palegreen except for the head, which isnearly wholly bluish, with a boldwhite orbital ring. The under surfaceof the tail is red at the base. Calls areoften doubled: cheeah, cheeah (Juniperand Parr 1998). In the nominate sub-species, which is found in California(Garrett 1997) and Florida (Prantyand Epps 2002), the frontal portion ofthe head is extensively bluish, and thelower mandible is dark.

Notes: Captured in large numbersfor the pet trade, with 94,000 im-ported from Argentina from 1985 to1990 (Juniper and Parr 1998).

Fig. 8. The mostly bluish head, bold whitish orbital ring, and pinkishupper mandible combine to identify the Blue-crowned Parakeet, butimmatures (and adults in poor light) can show little blue and thus moreclosely resemble the smaller Green Parakeet and other Aratinga para-keets. Another diagnostic character is the red tinge to the outer tailfeathers; since this is normally visible only from below, it cannot beseen here. However, this mark is clearly shown on the right-hand bird inFig. 1.The apparent collar on the lower bird is simply a shadow causedby raised feathers, and it should not be confused with the neck ring of aRose-ringed Parakeet. ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA; SPRING 1999. LEE F. SNYDER.

Fig. 9. The Mitred Parakeet is a large, heavy-billed Aratinga, with a bold whitish orbital ring, a dull dark-red forehead, and varying amounts of red on the crown and face; most postjuvenal birds also show some redflecking on the sides of the neck (as seen here) and occasionally on the breast and the bend of the wing. Onthis individual, note the small spot of red where the wing meets the body; this mark should not be confusedwith the more extensive and continuous red on the bend of the wing and underwing coverts that typifiesthe similar Red-masked Parakeet (Fig. 10). MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA; SPRING 2001. LARRY MANFREDI.


Mitred Parakeet(Aratinga mitrata)

Native Range: Dry forests and sa-vannas above 1,000 meters, fromsouthern Peru to northwestern Ar-gentina.

U.S. Range: California populations,concentrated in Los Angeles and Or-ange Counties, exceed 1,000 birds(Garrett and Mabb 2002). In Florida,a population of more than 300 occursat Fort Lauderdale and Miami (Prantyand Epps 2002; B. Pranty, unpub-lished data). AOU (2002) recognizesthe existence of these populations,but the species is not on the ABAChecklist or any state list.

Identification: The identification ofthis species is discussed by Prantyand Garrett (2002). Distinguishedfrom the smaller Red-masked Para-keet by the reduced amount of red on

the head, as well as bythe lack of red on thelesser underwingcoverts. Additionally,the color on the fore-head is very dark, ap-proaching maroon.Based on the largeamount of red on theirheads, the MitredParakeets in California(Garrett 1997) andFlorida (Pranty andEpps 2002) representthe nominate sub-species. Calls arerather harsh and nasal.

Notes: This specieshas been captured inhuge numbers for thepet trade. From 1981to 1984, Bolivia ex-ported 35,100 to theU.S., and at least108,033 birds weretaken from Argentinafrom 1985 to 1990(del Hoyo et al. 1997).

Red-maskedParakeet(Aratinga erythrogenys)

Native Range: Low-land deserts, forests,and farmlands in Ecuador and Peru;considered near-threatened (Juniperand Parr 1998).

U.S. Range: With over 300 individu-als, California populations are concen-trated in the San Gabriel Valley of LosAngeles County, San Diego, and SanFrancisco (Garrett and Mabb 2002).In Florida, there are perhaps 100 birdsat Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with afew others at Cape Canaveral andelsewhere (Pranty and Epps 2002; B.Pranty, personal observation).

Identification: Red on the head isuniformly bright and extends solidlyto behind the eyes. The amount of redis variable (probably due to age andsexual differences), with some birdsshowing a completely red hood, down

to the base of the lower mandible (seeFig. 1, p. 249). The head has a boldwhite orbital ring, and the bend of thewing and lesser underwing coverts arebright red. The combination of exten-sive red on the head and shouldersrules out all other Aratinga species.Calls are like Mitred Parakeets but arehigher pitched and even more nasal.

Notes: Captured in large numbersfor the pet trade, with 26,375 individ-uals exported to the U.S. from 1985to 1990 (del Hoyo et al. 1997).

Dusky-headed Parakeet(Aratinga weddellii)

Native Range: Swamps and lowlandriparian forests in the western Ama-zon Basin.

Fig. 10. The Red-masked Parakeet (or Cherry-headed Conure) is quitesimilar to the larger and heavier-billed Mitred Parakeet (Fig. 9), but it has abright-red forehead, a more solid-red face, and extensive red on the marginaland lesser underwing coverts (normally seen easily in a profile view or inthis ventral view). FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA; SPRING 2002. DART HUMESTON.

Fig. 11. This Dusky-headed Parakeet recalls thelarger Blue-crowned Parakeet (Fig. 8), but the Dusky-headeds all-black bill, dull and somewhat scaly anddusky-gray (not bluish) head, and lack of red on therectrices are good distinguishing marks.The Dusky-headed might also be confused with the Black-hoodedParakeet, especially in flight, but it never has black onthe face, blue on the breast, or red on the thighs.MIAMI SPRINGS, FLORIDA; SEPTEMBER 2002. JOHN H. BOYD.


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U.S. Range: Florida only; apparentlyfewer than 50 present at Miami, butmore numerous formerly.

Identification: A small Aratinga witha blackish bill. The head is dull pur-plish-gray with a bold white orbitalring. The breast is dingy green, andthe remaining underparts are yellow-ish-green. The blue-black flight feath-ers contrasting with green wingcoverts are reminiscent of Black-hooded Parakeet. Calls are grating, re-calling Black-hooded Parakeet.

Chestnut-fronted Macaw(Ara severa)

Native Range: Savannas, palmgroves, and forests from Panamasouth to the western Amazon Basin.

U.S. Range: Florida only, at FortLauderdale and Miami. Probablyfewer than 100 individuals occur.

Identification: The largest parrot,and the only macaw, likely to be en-countered in the U.S., although sev-eral other macaws have been seen(and Blue-and-yellow Macaw hasbred). Mostly green above with an en-tirely white, largely unfeathered facebordered narrowly by chestnut. Theprimaries are blue, and the under-wing linings and undertail are red-

are found, mainly at Fort Lauderdaleand sparingly at Miami (Pranty andEpps 2002, Pranty and Voren 2003).California populations are limited to1020 in southern Los AngelesCounty and up to 40 at San Francisco(Garrett and Mabb 2002).

Identification: A small parakeet,about the size of a Budgerigar. Theplumage is mostly green. Both Bro-togeris parakeets discussed here wereconsidered conspecific until recently,and were known collectively as theCanary-winged Parakeet (AOU1997, AOU 1998, Brightsmith 1999).Both species have yellow greater sec-ondary coverts, but White-wingedsalso have white inner primaries andwhite secondaries tinged with yellow.The outer primaries are dark bluish-black. The White-winged Parakeet hasa rather wide, gray orbital ring thatmerges with gray, unfeathered lores.The gray lores probably are the mostuseful field mark on perched birds,which typically show only the yellowsecondary coverts. On a perched bird,a few of the innermost primaries willoccasionally be visible as a smallwhite patch on the folded wing (seeFig. 13). Flight call is chree or chree-chree, richer and slightly lower-pitched than the similar call of Yellow-

Fig. 12. Although relatively small for a macaw, the Chestnut-fronted Macaw still dwarfs our other well-estab-lished parrots in total length.The extensive bare facial skin is characteristic of macaws and distinguishes this birdfrom any Aratinga parakeet. Note the heavy black bill, the dark-chestnut forehead, and the red areas on the bend ofthe wing and on the tail. MIAMI SHORES, FLORIDA; 15 MARCH 2002. DART HUMESTON.

Fig. 13. The White-winged Parakeet (shown here) and the Yellow-chevroned Parakeet (Fig. 14) were formerly considered con-specific, being combined as the Canary-winged Parakeet. Identification of flying birds is simple, with the White-winged showingwhite inner primaries and outer secondaries, and the Yellow-chevroned being all green on these flight feathers. Perched birds aremore problematic, as the white in the flight feathers of White-winged can be virtually obscured; a bit of white is just visible on thisWhite-winged. Other characters that distinguish this species from the Yellow-chevroned are the duller green body color, the moreextensively gray orbital ring and gray feathering in the lores, and a slightly paler bill. KENDALL, FLORIDA; JULY 2001. LARRY MANFREDI.

dish. The chestnut forehead gives thebird its English name. Calls are loud,harsh screeches.

White-winged Parakeet(Brotogeris versicolurus)

Native Range: Savannas and moistlowland forests along the AmazonRiver. Apparently allopatric with Yel-low-chevroned Parakeet, which isfound farther south.

U.S. Range: In Florida, 200 or more

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chevroned; perched and interactingbirds give various chattering calls.

Forshaw (1977) correctly describesthe different plumage and loral col-oration between the two species of Ca-nary-winged Parakeet, although the il-lustration of the White-winged Para-keet shows green, feathered lores. Theillustrations in Juniper and Parr (1998,p. 179) for both species are problem-atic. The body colors of the perchedadults and the primary patterns of theflying birds are transposed. Further-more, the bolder orbital ring and un-feathered, gray lores of the White-winged Parakeet are not shown. Theillustration in Sibley (2000) of the Yel-low-chevroned Parakeet shows bluish,rather than green, flight feathers, while

Kaufman (2000) does notclearly show the grayish loresand wide orbital ring of theWhite-winged Parakeet. Theillustrations in NGS (2002)show correct plumages forboth species.

Notes: Previously abundantat Miami; a single roost con-tained 700 birds in 1972(Owre 1973). Populationspeaked in the early 1970s,corresponding with theheight of importation, anddeclined severely as importa-tion waned (Brightsmith1999). A similar decline inCalifornia occurred by thelate 1970s (Garrett 1997).In Florida, it formerly oc-curred north to West PalmBeach, but populationsnow are limited to FortLauderdale and Miami.These two Brotogerisspecies may be interbreed-ing at Fort Lauderdale andSan Francisco (Pranty andVoren 2003).

Yellow-chevronedParakeet(Brotogeris chiriri)

Native Range: Savannasand moist lowland forests south ofthe Amazon Basin in central SouthAmerica.

U.S. Range: Common in the LosAngeles area, with over 600 birdsin the Los Angeles basin and adja-cent valleys (Garrett and Mabb2002); a few also occur withWhite-winged Parakeets at SanFrancisco (Garrett and Mabb 2002;Pranty and Voren 2003). Over 400birds are found at Miami (L. Man-fredi, personal communication),with small numbers at Fort Laud-erdale (Pranty and Epps 2002),where the presence of potential hy-brids (Pranty and Voren 2003)complicates field identification.

Identification: This species is dis-

cussed by Pranty and Garrett (2002).It is similar overall to White-wingedParakeet, but the plumage is lightergreen, including the fully-featheredlores. The orbital ring is white, notgray, and it is narrower than inWhite-winged Parakeet. The primar-ies and secondaries are green. Callsare similar to those of White-winged,but higher and scratchier.

Notes: See White-winged Parakeet.

Red-crowned Parrot(Amazona viridigenalis)

Native Range: Lowland forests andfarmlands in northeastern Mexico. It

Fig. 14. This perched Yellow-chevroned Parakeet is told from theclosely related White-winged Parakeet (Fig. 13) by its brighter grass-green body plumage, narrower whitish orbital ring, green lores, andslightly darker bill.Yellow-chevroned Parakeets never show white in theprimaries and secondaries, but, as noted above, the white shown in thoseareas by White-winged is often barely visible on the folded wing. MIAMISHORES, FLORIDA; 6 AUGUST 2002. DART HUMESTON.

Fig. 15. The Red-crowned Parrot (variously called Green-cheeked Amazon or Mexican Red-head by aviculturists) is themost-well-established parrot in California. It also maintainssignificant populations in southern Texas (possibly augmentedby naturally-occurring birds from northeastern Mexico) and insouthern Florida.The three Red-crowneds shown here (a juve-nile flanked by two adults) are told from other amazons bythe combination of a bright-red forehead and forecrown (oftenextending to above the eye), a bluish post-ocular region (whichmay extend onto the crown), a lack of yellow anywhere on thehead, and a pale ivory-brown bill and cere.The red patch on theouter secondaries, just visible in these perched birds, is sharedwith several other Amazona parrots occurring in the ABA Area.FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA; JULY 2001. LARRY MANFREDI.

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is endangered, with a total populationnumbering 3,0006,500 individuals(Juniper and Parr 1998).

U.S. Range: Over 2,600 occur insouthern California, and this specieshas been accepted to the state list bythe California Bird Records Commit-tee (Rogers and Jaramillo 2002). InFlorida, several hundred occur fromPalm Beach to Miami (Pranty andEpps 2002; B. Pranty, unpublisheddata). In Texas, naturalized popula-tions are established in Brownsville,Harlingen, McAllen, Mission, San An-tonio, and San Marcos (Enkerlin-Hoe-flich and Hogan 1997). The specieshas been accepted to the Texas statelist (TBRC 2003).

Identification: This parrot is thethird species discussed by Pranty andGarrett (2002). Among the Amazona

well as a distinctive rolling, down-ward-inflected whistle.

Notes: Translocations from the pop-ulations in California, Florida, andTexas could be used to supplementthe endangered native population inMexico. A potential complication,though, is the possibility that the U.S.populations are hybridizing withLilac-crowned (and maybe otherAmazona) Parrots (Garrett 1997).

Lilac-crowned Parrot(Amazona finschi)

Native Range: Lowland and foothillforests of western Mexico from south-ern Sonora to Oaxaca.

U.S. Range: More than 500 occur insouthern California, mainly aroundLos Angeles and San Diego (Garrettand Mabb 2002). Escapees have beenseen in Florida (Pranty 2001a).

Identification: Similar to Red-crowned Parrot in being mainly

parrots likely to be en-countered in the U.S.,only two have red on

the crowns and red patches on theouter secondaries: Red-crowned andLilac-crowned Parrots. On the adultRed-crowned Parrot, the red fore-head extends backward to at leastthe fore-crown, the hind-crown ispale blue, and the remainder of thehead is green. On the Lilac-crownedParrot, the forehead is darker redand the crown is lavender-blue, andthis color curves downward behindthe auriculars to the base of thehead. The Red-lored Parrot breeds invery small numbers in the SanGabriel Valley of California, and ithas occurred in Florida and Texas; itis similar but has red at the base ofthe outer rectrices, blackish on thebill, and a yellow stripe or patch be-low the eyes. The Red-crowned givesvarious grating and cawing calls, as

Fig. 16. This Lilac-crowned Parrot is best told from the similar Red-crownedParrot by its darker-red forehead (not extending as far back as the eye), by theextensive suffusion of pale lavender-blue on the crown, and by the darker cere.Shape characters are useful as well, with the Lilac-crowned having a flattercrown and a longer tail (the latter often quite noticeable in flight).EL GOLFO DE SANTA CLARA, SONORA; 18 NOVEMBER 2002. KIMBALL L. GARRETT.

Fig. 17. This Orange-winged Parakeet shows the typical chunky shape of Amazona parrots.Thesmall yellow patch on the crown (barely visible here) and the more extensive yellow on the face areseparated by a blue line that extends through and just above the eye.The patch of color on the second-aries recalls that of Lilac-crowned and Red-crowned Parrots, but it is smaller and more orange in tone.The orange-red visible here on the tail feathers is more extensive than the limited amount sometimesshown by Lilac-crowned and Red-crowned Parrots. MIAMI SPRINGS, FLORIDA; JULY 2001. LARRY MANFREDI.


green with red on the forehead andsecondaries, but noticeably longer-tailed; the flatter crown and limiteddark-red forehead patch result in avery different countenance. The en-tire crown is washed with lilac, un-like the more limited blue of Red-crowned. The cere is noticeablydarker than the bill (the cere andbill are usually concolor in Red-crowned). Many calls are identical tothose of Red-crowned Parrot, but theLilac-crowned also gives, especially

in flight, a distinctive, squeaky risingwhistle, ker-leek?

Orange-winged Parrot(Amazona amazonica)

Native Range: Savannas, farmlands,and forests in much of northern andcentral South America.

U.S. Range: Florida only, with perhaps 100 individuals at FortLauderdale and Miami combined(Pranty and Epps 2002; CBC data).

Identification: An Amazona with a

yellow face and crown divided by anazure stripe above and through theeyes. The remainder of the plumageis green except for a small orangepatch on the outer secondaries. Thetail is green with a yellowish tip, withorange in the outer rectrices. The billis horn-colored. Its highly varied vo-cal repertoire includes harshscreeches, screams, and squawks,as well as melodious trilling, bub-bling, and whistling sounds (Juniperand Parr 1998).

Comparisons of Field GuidesHere we discuss psittacid treatment inthe Big Three North American fieldguides: Kaufman (2000), Sibley (2000),and NGS (2002). We do not considerPeterson (2002), because the treatmentof parrots was not updated from thepreceding edition (Peterson 1980) andnow is quite outdated. Other fieldguides to North America contain few orno parrot species. All three of theguides treated here include the Thick-billed Parrot, which has not occurred inthe U.S. (Arizona) since the 1930s; areintroduction attempt in the 1980swas not successful.

Kaufman (2000) includes photo-graphs of 15 frequently seen exoticparrots, and all occur at the presenttime. Chestnut-fronted Macaw,Dusky-headed Parakeet, and Orange-winged Parrot are the only additionalspecies that perhaps should havebeen included.

Sibley (2000) illustrates 27 exoticspecies (8 of these as heads-and-shoulders only) and briefly mentionsseveral others. Sibleys guide providesthe most comprehensive treatment ofexotic parrots available in any of theU.S. field guides, and the guide evenincludes many non-establishedspecies seen infrequently. Two specieswith very small breeding populationsin southeastern Florida (the Blue-and-yellow Macaw and White-eyed Para-keet) are not mentioned. Sibley in-

cludes the Yellow-lored Parrot (Ama-zona xantholora) because of the po-tential for sightings of escapes inFlorida (D. Sibley, personal communi-cation); however, there are no knownreports for the state (Pranty 2001a).

National Geographic Society (NGS2002) includes 15 exotic parrots; it isthe only guide that fully depicts theOrange-winged Parrot (Sibley in-cludes a head-only illustration). Allthe species shown in this guide occurat the present time, and the only fre-quently-seen species that is excludedis the Chestnut-fronted Macaw.

Sibleys is the only North Americanguide that shows dorsal and ventralviews of parakeets in flight. Not evenForshaw (1977) or Juniper and Parr(1998) do this. Unfortunately, theseviews are available in Sibley only for afew Amazona parrots, for the Chest-nut-fronted Macaw, and for the para-keets. Furthermore, most Amazonaparrot illustrations show only the up-perside of the tail, whereas observersin the field, looking up at a parrotperched on a powerline or in a palmor other tree, see only the undersideof the tail. The lack of ventral viewsof parrot tails is a recurring shortcom-ing of all current illustrated guides.

One drawback of North Americanfield guidesand even of the parrotbooks by Forshaw (1977) and Juniperand Parr (1998)is that illustrationsof pre-adult plumages are lacking or

incomplete. Some of the larger par-rots, such as the Amazona, attain sex-ual maturity in their third or fourthyear. Adult plumages are acquiredgradually, and some sub-adultplumages differ markedly from thoseof adults. Also problematic are all-green juvenile Aratinga parakeets. Avi-culturists must hold a wealth of dataon plumage maturation in parrots, butlittle of this information has infiltratedthe ornithological literature.

Future DirectionsOnce birders begin to master the fieldidentification of naturalized parrots inNorth America, a host of ecological is-sues awaits to be illuminated. In par-ticular, resource use and the extent towhich parrots occupy natural habitatsand affect native species need activestudy. In Florida, Black-hooded Para-keets, native to central South America,widely nest in palms endemic to Mex-ico. Monk Parakeets nest in a varietyof artificial structures, as well as inpalms and other trees from all overthe world. Amazona parrots, from sep-arate ranges in Central or SouthAmerica, roost together in trees nativeto Australia. In California, Yellow-chevroned Parakeets forage on seedsof silk-floss trees (Chorisia speciosa,native to South America like the para-keets), but they are also quick to takea sugar fix from the blossoms of vari-ous Australian eucalypts.

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Many of the same speciesand eventhe same subspeciesof parrots arefound in California and Florida. Thisoccurrence is the result of vast num-bers of wild-caught parakeets havingformerly been imported through theports of Los Angeles, Miami, and SanFrancisco, and quarantined locallywith the subsequent inevitable escapeof some individuals. With importationof wild-caught parrots now greatlycurtailed by the Wild Bird Conserva-tion Act of 1992, it will be interestingto see which naturalized populationsin North America survive. For popula-tions that do surviveand especiallyfor those that continue to increasethe relevant state records committeesand the American Birding AssociationChecklist Committee must continue tograpple with consistent and biologi-cally-sound criteria for determiningwhen populations are sufficiently es-tablished to merit a place on the ap-propriate avifaunal lists.

AcknowledgmentsKaren Mabb, Alison Sheehey, and nu-merous others have greatly enhancedour knowledge of parrot populationsin California, and we thank them fortheir hard work. In Florida, com-ments by Herman Bechtel, John Boyd,Susan Epps, David Goodwin, LarryManfredi, Lee Snyder, and HowardVoren are greatly appreciated. Prantythanks Holly Lovell for support, aswell as Terry Doyle and KathyOReilly-Doyle for other assistance.

Literature CitedAmerican Birding Association. 2002.

ABA Checklist: Birds of the Continen-tal United States and Canada, sixthedition. American Birding Associa-tion (Colorado Springs).

American Ornithologists Union[AOU]. 1997. Forty-first supplementto the American OrnithologistsUnion Check-list of North AmericanBirds. Auk 114:542552.

American Ornithologists Union[AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North

Table 1. Comparison of exotic parrots included in the Big Three North American field

guides. Boldfaced species represent those discussed in our species accounts, pp. 251259, and de-

picted in Figs. 317. Overall, 27 species of exotic parrots are illustrated in the three guides listed, and

Sibley includes all of them. Sibley illustrates some parrots as head-and-shoulder images, whereas

NGS and Kaufman include only full-body views.

SPECIES KAUFMAN (2000) SIBLEY (2000) NGS (2002)

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo o

Cockatiel o o

Budgerigar o o o

Peach-faced Lovebird o o

Rose-ringed Parakeet o o o

Monk Parakeet o o o

Black-hooded Parakeet o o o

Blue-crowned Parakeet o o o

Red-masked Parakeet o o o

Green Parakeet o o o

Mitred Parakeet o o o

Dusky-headed Parakeet o o

Chestnut-fronted Macaw o

White-winged Parakeet o o o

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet o o o

White-fronted Parrot o

Red-crowned Parrot o o o

Lilac-crowned Parrot o o o

Blue-fronted Parrot o

Red-lored Parrot o

Yellow-lored Parrot o

Hispaniolan Parrot o

Orange-winged Parrot o o

Yellow-headed Parrot o o o

Yellow-naped Parrot o

Yellow-crowned Parrot o

Mealy Parrot o

SPECIES ILLUSTRATED 15 27 15


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parrot fauna of the aba area, 2003

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