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.

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.

Voice Text

"screeet"

• 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.

• Green Parakeet
• Mitred Parakeet

Parakeets and Parrots (Psittacidae)

ORDER

The taxonomic order PSITTACIFORMES (pronounced sit-uh-suh-FORM-eez) is composed of three families; the cockatoos, New Zealand parrots such as the Kea, and parakeets and parrots.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

The Psittacidae (pronounced sit-UH-suh-dee), a family of nearly worldwide occurrence, includes three hundred and forty-eight species of parrots and parakeets in seventy-seven genera.

NORTH AMERICA

Fifty-four species of parrots and parakeets in fifteen genera have been recorded in North America (including two extinct species, the Carolina Parakeet and Cuban Macaw).

KNOWN FOR

Parrots and parakeets are known for their distinctive bill shape, intelligence, and popularity as pets. The Yellow-headed Parrot is especially popular in this regard as it readily learns to repeat human speech. Unfortunately, this trait has made it such a popular cage bird that wild populations have become highly endangered because of capture for the pet trade.

PHYSICAL

Parrots are medium to large in size while parakeets are generally smaller. Although all share a short, sharply decurved bills, and have fairly short legs with strong “zygodactyl” toes (two facing forward and two facing backward), the overall shape of these birds differs considerably among groups. For example, the macaws and parakeets sport long, pointed tails and wings, while most of the parrots have square-shaped, short or medium length tails and fairly broad wings.

COLORATION

Parrots and parakeets are colorful birds with predominately green plumage. Red and yellow patches are often found on the heads, wings, and tails, while some species also have blue or gray coloration.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

In the United States and Canada, most members of this family occur as populations that escaped from captivity. Most of these persist in cities with mild climates and fruiting plants (many of which are also introduced species) that provide them with food. Wild parrots and parakeets from Mexico may be found in populations of Red-crowned and Green Parakeets in southern Texas, and occasional vagrant Thick-billed Parrots in the pine forests of southern Arizona and New Mexico.

MIGRATION

In North America, parrots and parakeets are non-migratory.

HABITS

Parrots and parakeets are highly social birds typically occurring in flocks. They form strong pair bonds with individual pairs often discernible even when associating with other birds. Members of this family use their strong bills to crack open seeds and feed on fruits. When searching for fruiting and seeding trees, parrots and parakeets fly high overhead, giving frequent screeching vocalizations. Upon flying into a tree, though, they go quiet and seem to “disappear” as their green plumage blends in with the foliage.

CONSERVATION

Several members of this family are endangered in various parts of the world due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade. The Red-crowned Parrot falls into this category; although not threatened in Texas, it is highly endangered in Mexico.

INTERESTING FACTS

The only two naturally occurring members of this family found north of Mexico were the Carolina Parakeet and the Thick-billed Parrot. Despite an astonishingly large population, the parakeet went extinct due to over-hunting and the parrot was extirpated in North America in the early twentieth century because of both hunting and habitat loss. Despite reintroduction efforts, the Thick-billed Parrot hasn’t been able to reestablish itself in Arizona, and Mexican populations of this species remain threatened by habitat loss.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Dwight Kirkland