Valley Nature: Parrots can be a riot

One of the delights of living in the Rio Grande Valley are the parrots who roost here. The most common of which is the red-crowned parrot (AKA, the Mexican red-headed Amazon).

Mostly vegetarian, there are approximately 372 parrot species, which are found mainly in warm, tropical regions. South America and Australia have the greatest diversity. Like woodpeckers, and somewhat freakish, parrots have two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backwards.

Parrots are predominantly green with bright colors sometimes adoring their heads, chests, and feathers; and almost all nest in tree holes, especially in the tall Washingtonian palm trees that call the Valley home. Some of the most intelligent of birds, the parrots’ ability to mimic human voices enhances their popularity as pets.

That presents a problem, because according to most bird experts, parrots are such social creatures, they’re not big fans of being locked up in a cage. Meaning, like a scene out of Breaking Bad, when they have a chance to gain freedom (bird cage door accidentally left open) they grab it and not only fly out of the cage, but the front door as well.

Currently, the Rio Grande Valley (the country’s premiere birding area) is home to a lot of parrots, primarily the red-headed Amazon. Their native range includes the lowland forests of northeast Mexico, which extend to within approximately 180 miles south of the Texas border. Meaning, they could easily fly here if they so chose. Since much of Mexico’s timberland has been bulldozed over, the parrots have a reason to escape to America, shall we say.

There has also been an illegal bird border smuggling operation underway for the past 30 to 40 years, during which many red-crowned parrots have been secreted into the U.S. from Mexico and sold to Valley people in all sorts of venues, pet shops, flea markets.

According to bird experts, a lot of the parrots have either subsequently escaped their captor, shall we say, or been intentionally let loose by disillusioned pet owners tired of getting awoken early every morning by a squawking parrot (this hadn’t occurred to them when they bought the bird from their crack dealer who considers himself an entrepreneur of sorts).

In a story published approximately 20 years ago by Nature Photographers Online Magazine, one south Texas’ bird expert from the World Birding Center in Mission said that because all the red-headed parrots sound the same – those native to Mexico vs. those raised in a cage — he couldn’t be sure which parrots in a parrot flock were native (to Mexico and had flown here) vs. those that had either escaped their captor or been released.

Not for everyone

Bird experts, however, warn consumers: Be careful of what you’re getting into before you buy a parrot. Why? Because they’re so intelligent, and so social, they demand a lot of attention. You can’t just park one in a cage and expect it to be happy. READ: You have to give the parrot a lot of love and attention.

Today, animal experts say that with an estimated 11 million birds (where’s Alfred Hitchcock?) living as pets in the U.S., parrots are now considered to be the fourth most common pet after dogs, cats and fish.

If you’re thinking of buying a parrot, please first visit www.featherme.com, which has a good guide on parrots – what to consider before buying one, etc. Local pet stores also have literature on what it takes to be a good parrot owner. Also, don’t forget, those beaks are sharp and they can exert a lot of pressure on sensitive skin.

The fact that parrots are amazing creatures becomes obvious if you have the pleasure of being around any for any length of time.

An old friend of mine, Guy Bevil, who used to own Bygones by Guy’s antique store in downtown Pharr, had a parrot in his store. It had been raised in a home with about six kids. Meaning, over the years, it had listened to a lot of crying kids.

So, when a customer would get ready to leave the antique store, Guy’s parrot would start to mimic a toddler, crying, “Don’t go;” and the crazy bird would actually sound like a crying toddler, with all the sniff, sniffs and short-of-breath huh-huhs that go along with uncontrolled sobbing. Of course, the customer would end up staying longer — “Oh, what a cute bird” — lingering in Guy’s store, which was probably my buddy’s plan all along — the longer customers remained in his antique store, the more apt they were to buy something.