A Mexican bird finds a home north of the border, but the red-crowned Amazon might still face extinction

The red-crowned Amazon (Amazona viridigenalis) — a chunky greenish vertebrate with a bright-red forehead and crown, a dark-blue streak down the eyes and light-green cheeks that’s endemic to Mexico’s lowland forests and floodplain areas — has successful caller years mislaid betwixt 50% and 85% of its archetypal habitat, causing a colonisation alteration arsenic well. But the existent nonstop numbers of this taxon of parrot are uncertain.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List, the book for accusation connected endangered animals, notes that determination has not been a survey of the red-crowned Amazon since 1994, erstwhile determination were estimated to beryllium betwixt 3,000 and 6,500 birds successful existence, with 2,000 to 4,300 breeding adults. Numbers person astir apt declined since then, but determination is an urgent request for an up-to-date survey. 

A vertebrate cursed by its ain popularity

The red-crowned Amazon is endangered and is present recovered lone successful a fewer parts of Mexico. (Mike’s Birds/Wikimedia Commons)

The IUCN lists the taxon arsenic endangered, and immoderate elaborate survey successful the aboriginal is much apt to bring atrocious alternatively than bully news. Case successful point: A 2021 study based connected causal observations suggested the chaotic Mexican colonisation was concentrated successful 3 areas. When a tiny colonisation of immoderate carnal fragments successful this way, that is usually taken arsenic a information sign. However, during the nonbreeding season, the red-crowned Amazon is known to rotation implicit ample areas, and it is hoped that the 3 populations mightiness inactive interact. 

Over galore decades, the colonisation successful Mexico had been deed by a one-two punch of situation nonaccomplishment and the seizure of the birds for the favored trade. It is simply a curse of the red-crowned Amazon that it makes a precise bully pet. It tin unrecorded for implicit 50 years successful captivity if decently cared for, and it is an affectionate and playful bird, arsenic good arsenic an fantabulous mimic. 

When the favored commercialized successful parrots reached its highest betwixt 1970 and 1982, astir 16,000 red-crowned parrots were legally imported into the United States. The taxon lived astatine the bluish grade of the parrot’s range, comparatively adjacent to the U.S. border, making them a favored people for the amerciable trade; this whitethorn person removed an further 5,000 birds a twelvemonth from the chaotic population. Nestlings were the easiest to capture, and this led to a peculiarly precocious mortality rate. For each vertebrate that made it to the U.S., different had astir apt died on the way. 

The banning of the parrot trade

The Mexico parrot commercialized was banned successful 2008, which helped considerably. The easiest mode to smuggle immoderate uncommon animals is to make mendacious documents and past openly instrumentality them crossed borders; that enactment was present closed.

Ironically, it is the favored commercialized that mightiness yet prevention the vertebrate from extinction. Several parrots person escaped oregon been released erstwhile their owners grew bushed of them, and galore of these intelligent and adaptable birds person survived successful the wild. There are present populations of red-crowned Amazons successful Texas, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Florida and Southern California. Altogether, the full U.S. colonisation is estimated astatine astir 4,700 birds, which astir apt outnumbers the Mexican population, which inhabits parts of Eastern Mexico: Southern Tamaulipas, Eastern San Luis Potosí and Northern Veracruz, with sightings besides successful Nuevo León.

A Brownsville favorite

One colony is based astir 4 cities successful confederate Texas — Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen and Weslaco — wherever it is not uncommon to spot ample numbers of the parrots gathered successful gardens and parks. Texas was the archetypal halt successful the U.S connected the transport way for some ineligible and amerciable parrots, and respective probably escaped portion being brought over. This mightiness see galore amerciable birds released if the motortruck they were being carried successful looked successful information of being stopped by the authorities.  

The red-crowned Amazon has recovered an adopted location successful Texas. (World Parrot Trust)

Of each the species’ adopted homes, Brownsville has developed a peculiar brushed spot for the bird, and the Joe & Tony Oliveira Park — a civic abstraction with diversion fields and courts, picnic areas and a skateboard parkland — is celebrated for the evening gathering of squawking parrots. In 1992, the red-crowned Amazon was declared Brownsville’s authoritative bird. 

An introduced taxon often harms the autochthonal wildlife, but these parrots contiguous a happier story. They are babelike connected resources that, similar themselves, person been introduced to Texas. They provender connected the seeds of imported ornamental plants and prefer to nest successful different nonnative tree, the palm. This means that they bash not vie with autochthonal birds for resources. 

Red-crowned Amazons successful Texas tin beryllium recovered successful parks, ample gardens and adjacent the parking tons of large buying centers wherever shadiness trees person been planted. The parrot’s dependence connected thenar trees is possibly the crushed that the dependable maturation successful numbers implicit galore years appears to beryllium leveling out. The dormant palms that the birds nest successful are considered unsightly and perchance unsafe and thin to beryllium removed. In parts of Texas, the red-crowned Amazon whitethorn person reached the bounds of suitable nesting sites.

A migration mystery

The crushed the Texas colonisation is so absorbing is that there is immoderate statement astir whether each the red-crowned Amazons successful this portion of the U.S. were brought determination by humans. Some 25 taxon of parrots have formed self-sustaining populations successful 23 states crossed the country, and, successful astir cases, the region from their earthy location leaves small uncertainty that these colonies originated from escaped pets. However, successful the lawsuit of the red-crowned Amazon colonisation successful Texas, the substance is not truthful certain. 

The region to their Mexico homelands is astir 180 kilometers, and portion red-crowned Amazons bash not marque yearly migratory flights, times of stress, specified arsenic terrible wintertime upwind oregon drought, tin spot them look extracurricular their mean range. Newspaper reports suggest flocks of parrots, apt to be red-crowns, were seen successful Texas during the precocious 1880s, and those birds astir surely got present connected their ain wings. Those birds did not found a imperishable colony, however, and the contiguous colonisation dates backmost to astir the 1970s. 

Theories connected red-crowned Amazon populations successful Texas

One theory, however, is that the historical frost of 1983–1984 mightiness person forced immoderate of these birds to permission their Mexican location and alert north, wherever they joined escaped birds already established successful Texas. The aforesaid acold wintertime mightiness person killed galore thenar trees, the brushed decaying wood helping the caller arrivals find nesting sites. In June 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service weighed the grounds and announced that the red-crowned Amazon should beryllium considered a autochthonal vertebrate to the Rio Grande Valley.

Hybridization is considered a threat, arsenic evidenced by this red-crowned and yellow-headed Amazon mates successful California. (James M. Maley/Wikimedia Commons)

In Mexico, the parrot has seldom made the determination into municipality areas, though determination are noteworthy exceptions. Monterrey has a important colonisation of parrots, arsenic does the smaller Nuevo León assemblage of Hidalgo. As successful the U.S., these populations mightiness good person been formed by escaped pets. But successful the U.S., the vertebrate is lone recovered successful towns and does not look to person been tempted into the countryside. 

Threats to Mexico’s red-crowned Amazon population 

There are problems for the U.S. parrots: Cats mightiness instrumentality young birds, but they astir apt look fewer predators than successful the wild. But successful Mexico, beyond situation nonaccomplishment — successful Tamaulipas, for example, the Global Forest Watch enactment reported successful 2021 that 80% of the state’s lowland wood had been cleared for agriculture and pasture —  different existent extinction information the parrots face in Mexico is altogether much complex: imaginable hybridization. 

The lilac-crowned is different Mexican parrot that has escaped and established itself successful the United States. The 2 taxon are truthful akin successful size and colour that adjacent experts tin sometimes person a pugnacious clip telling them apart. The lilac-crowned and red-crowned Amazons person a communal caller ancestor but for 2 cardinal years person been separated, with the lilac settling on the Mexican Pacific Coast and the red-crowned Amazon the Atlantic. In Texas, the birds are seen unneurotic successful the aforesaid flock and astir apt interbreed. Hybridization is not a large contented successful the U.S., but it mightiness undermine aboriginal attempts to summation the Mexican colonisation by introducing birds from California oregon Texas.

Continued dangers from the amerciable parrot trade

The amerciable commercialized from Mexico has continued, though connected a acold smaller standard than successful the past. The breeding of birds successful captivity has helped to little the price, though sadly, parrots brought successful from Mexico are cheaper than those bred arsenic pets, truthful the commercialized has not been wholly eliminated. Between 1992 and 2005, 3.67% of the full Mexican parrots seized by the authorities were red-crowned Amazons. That represents astir 59 birds. 

While this is simply a immense betterment connected the concern of 40 years ago, these birds person been taken from a acold smaller population. Each lawsuit brings its ain level of suffering. In May 2025, 17 parrots of assorted species, including 2 red-crowned Amazons, were seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. The birds were recovered bound and hidden nether a car seat. 

Lilac-crowned Amazons person besides been known to interbreed with their red-crowned cousins. (JavAlvarezS/Wikimedia Commons)

Other dangers successful Mexico

Much of their Mexican location is located successful noted cartel strongholds, and determination is small up-to-date accusation connected the birds’ status. While poaching has declined successful the wild, the demolition of the birds’ natural situation continues — a signifier that mightiness good person changed successful quality successful caller years. Much of the wood clearance is present thought to beryllium linked to the cause trade, with trees being chopped down to marque increasing fields and landing strips. Any aboriginal crackdown connected the cause commercialized is apt to propulsion growers further into the hills and is apt to endanger the birds’ last refuges.

The red-crowned Amazon is simply a fantastic illustration of Mexico’s unsocial vertebrate life. It is bittersweet to deliberation that to spot them successful ample numbers, we person to spell to a metropolis parkland successful Texas!

Bob Pateman is a Mexico-based historian, librarian and a life-term hasher. He is exertion of On On Magazine, the planetary past mag of hashing.