Thick-billed Parrot

Rhynchopsitta pachyrhynchaOrder: PSITTACIFORMESFamily: Parakeets and Parrots (Psittacidae)

Overview

Thick-billed Parrot: Large green parrot, dark thick bill, orange bare-skinned eye-ring, red forehead, shoulders, thighs. In flight shows striking black tail and flight feathers, with bright green, yellow, and red patches on wing coverts. Gray feet, legs. Swift direct flight with shallow wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Thick-billed Parrot: Resident in the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. Formerly ranged as far north as southern Arizona; attempts to reestablish these populations have not been successful. Inhabits mature pine and conifer forests on slopes and mountains, but populations are declining due to deforestation.

Listen:

Voice Text

"craa-aak"

Related Birds:

Red-crowned Parrot

Thick-billed Parrot

● Song: "craa-aak"

● Foraging & Feeding: Thick-billed Parrot: Extracts seeds from pinecones; flocks of several to hundreds of birds travel long distances in search of food.

● Breeding & nesting: Thick-billed Parrot: Lays one to four glossy white eggs. Female incubates for 25 to 28 days while male brings her food. Altricial young remain in nest 59 to 65 days. Breeding coincides with pine seed crops, usually beginning in April or May.

● Similar species: Thick-billed Parrot: Maroon-fronted Parrot has dark maroon-red forehead and lacks yellow patches on wings.

Flight Pattern

Flight powerful but casual with shallow wingbeats, often seen at great heights and often glides or travels in V formations.

● Range & Habitat: Thick-billed Parrot: Resident in the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. Formerly ranged as far north as southern Arizona; attempts to reestablish these populations have not been successful. Inhabits mature pine and conifer forests on slopes and mountains, but populations are declining due to deforestation.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight15 Ounces


HOME	Bird name:

Field Guide to Birds of North America