BREEDING BIRDS : RED-CROWNED PARROT (Amazona viridigenalis)

Description: This is a noisy, short-necked bird with a hooked bill. Its entire crown is red with a deep lilac eyebrow. The tail is short and squared-off with red, blue and green feathers. An overall green body is highlighted by red and blue feathers on the wings. Feet are zygodactyl (two toes in front and two toes in back). It is also called the red-headed parrot and green-cheeked parrot.

Length: 15 inches.

Habitat: Prefers areas with eucalyptus trees, but will nest in any tree.

Diet: Fruits (except for avocados, which it finds poisonous), vegetables, grubs, worms and roots.

Displays: Eyes of male dilate and blink. He puffs out chest, throwing it left and right as he struts and fans out his tail. Female lowers upper body (as if bending down on knees) spreads wings and lifts tail.

Nest: Abandoned unlined or chip-lined hollow in tree.

Eggs: White. Length: 1 1/2 inches.

Call: Harsh screech, or braa-aack . Limited mimicking.

Notes: These escaped cage birds have established free-living colonies in Santa Ana. Other parrot-like birds, conures, live in Santa Ana’s Prentice Park. The conure has markings similar to the red-crowned parrot, but the conure’s tail is long and v-shaped.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981). Russ LaPell, aviculturalist.