Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Backyard Bird Buddy

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — For a decade now, a special visitor has been frequenting the backyard, a lone yellow-headed parrot.

I don’t know for sure if the bird is male or female, as both sexes are similar, but judging from his occasional aggressive attitude toward red-crowned parrots and his resplendent yellow crown, I believe the yellow-head is a male.

I certainly don’t want in any way to demean the bird by referring to him as it, but I also do not want to excessively anthropomorphize the winged animal by attributing to him excessive human characteristics.

However, humans and yellow-heads are both sentient animals and therefore certainly share many feelings and emotions such as hunger, pain, joy, and loneliness.

Yellow-head comes and goes throughout the seasons. While the ubiquitous red-crowned parrots tend to flock through spring and summer, the yellow-head is a year-round visitor.

Sometimes, he appears in the morning and sometimes afternoon. Often, when I enter the backyard, he is quietly waiting for me to fill the feeder with sunflower seeds and peanuts.

Frequently, he proffers a subtle call, perhaps reminding me he is around and hungry. Occasionally, perched in his favorite anacua just above the feeder, and before I can get back in the house, he is already happily dining.

I used to see wild yellow-headed parrots on the Corona River, some 150 miles south, but they have almost all vanished from northern Mexico due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade.

Yellow-heads are coveted by some as pets for their exotic beauty and renowned ability to mimic human words.

One can empathize with the desire to be close to such a beautiful creature, but birds are made to fly, not be caged. And, what a joy to have the yellow-head free to visit on his own terms.

I have a feeling I might not be the only one cherishing a friendship with the yellow-head, and what a joy to share the world with a wild yellow-headed parrot. I just hope he can find a mate.