Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Remarkable Red-crowned Parrots

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It’s that time of the year when wild Red-crowned parrots of the Rio Grande Valley begin searching out potential nest cavities to raise their young.

Native to northeastern Mexico and southernmost Texas, Red-crowned parrots have increased their numbers dramatically north of the Rio Grande in neighborhoods throughout the RGV.

Historically, their population in northeastern Mexico through the 1950s was estimated to be 100,000 adult birds. However, due to habitat loss and pet trade Mexico’s wild flocks dipped dramatically, and only some 2,000 are thought to remain south of the border.

While Red-crowned parrots were documented in deep South Texas as far back as the mid-1700s by priests and early travelers and sporadically in following decades, it was not until the mid-1980s that Red-crowns became established nesters in the RGV.

Coincidentally, the peak of legal pet trade in Red-crowned parrots peaked during this time, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service tallied 16,490 nestlings legally imported into the United States between 1970 and 1982, with an equal number believed to have been illegally exported.

Not only were there undoubtedly many escapes during this time of active parrot imports, but severe freezes in 1983 and 1989 killed many nonnative Washingtonian palms, that were left standing and provided ideal nesting cavities for Red-crowns.

It was not until 1992 with the passage of the Wild Bird Conservation Act that international trade restrictions were imposed strictly limiting the legal import of parrots.

Fortunately, Red-crowned parrots are now protected by state law and many RGV cities have ordinances safeguarding them.

A recent study by Texas A&M University pegged the urban parrot population in the Rio Grande Valley at 900 Red-crowns. Coupled with flocks thriving in Florida and California cities, Red-crowns in the United States now number close to 5,000, which far exceeds their dwindling population in Mexico.

Red-crown parrots have shown a remarkable adaptation to city life, and what a tropical flair they bestow on the wildlife of the Rio Grande Valley.