The red-crowned parrots, an endangered species of bird native to northeast Mexico have found a new home, and a new life, in the Lone Star State.
According to a study from Texas A&M University, about 900 red-crowned parrots have been found living in urban areas of cities like Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco, and McAllen.
The parrots originally found their way to Texas as part of the illegal animal trade, but have thrived in the state due to what researchers say is their “human behaviors that benefit the species.”
Donald Brightsmith, a professor in the department of veterinary pathobiology who led the research, told the Dallas Morning News, “Basically what we’ve seen is that everything that parrots want is similar to what people want.”
For instance, watering trees to beautify our yards provides fruit and seeds to the parrots, and bark from trees and cacti also serve as sustenance for the birds. Brightsmith continued, “By planting your yard and landscaping it well, you’re providing food, shelter — and, if there’s palm trees — even nest sites for the parrots.
“That’s why these birds are literally often in the front yard, not even out in the backyard.”
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is prepared to help the conservation efforts of the red-crowned parrots and plans to conduct four counts each year to monitor the population of the birds.
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