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Wild Parrots

Nikki Buxton and Sophie Hebert Saulnier

Natural History

The parrots or Psittacine order contains roughly 398 species in four families: Psittacidae (African
and New World parrots), the Cacatuidae (cockatoos), Psittaculidae (Old World parrots), and the
Strigopidae (New Zealand parrots) (Gill and Donsker 2019). They are very popular in the pet trade
the world over. The only parrot naturally found in the continental U.S., the Carolina Parakeet
(Conuropsis carolinensis), is now extinct. Many feral populations of escaped pets are gradually
becoming established, including in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. About a third of all parrot
species are listed as near‐threatened to endangered, making them one of the most imperiled groups
of birds.
Theoretically, parrots mate for life, although many birds do re‐mate if something happens to
their partner, especially if they are still of breeding age. Mating season in Belize begins in late
January to early February and there are mid‐air battles over mates and nesting sites. Pairs start
copulating as soon as a cavity has been identified, and eggs begin to appear in March. The season
lasts until August, during which time birds with failed clutches have the opportunity to re‐nest and
second‐clutch.
Most species of parrots are cavity‐nesters, with some exceptions, such as Quaker Parrots
(Myiopsitta monachus), which are communal nest‐builders. Some prefer open‐space pine savanna,
some deep forest, some nest in trees or power poles in the city. Parrot nests have also been docu-
mented in termite nests. Most have deep, slim cavities: having once tried to extract two pre‐fledges
from a power pole (to circumvent malicious poachers), the author knows how hard it is to extract a
biting chick from a nest hole once your hand is balled into a fist. Often poachers will chop down the
tree or cut a new entrance hole at the base of the cavity with a machete, which has the double dev-
astation of destroying the nest site as well as removing the chicks and potentially injuring the birds.
A typical parrot clutch is 2–4 eggs depending on the species, and incubation periods are usually
16–30 days. Parrots begin to incubate eggs as soon as they are laid, and clutches thus contain chicks
of different ages. The young are altricial and as such are born blind, naked, and totally dependent
on their parents. The oldest chicks usually have a better chance of survival, since younger chicks
often struggle with their larger siblings to be fed. It is rare for more than two chicks to reach fledg-
ling age due to restricted cavity space. Old nests are often lined with the bones and feathers of dead

Hand-Rearing Birds, Second Edition. Edited by Rebecca S. Duerr and Laurie J. Gage.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.