Purloined Parrots to Get Trip Home

With help from authorities in two countries, nearly 100 birds headed home Monday.

Dozens of Amazon parrots seized from smugglers in recent months were handed back to Mexican officials as part of an effort to return the birds to their natural habitat in the lowlands and forests of Mexico.

The parrots -- 90 lilac crowns and Mexican redheads -- were probably stolen from their nests and driven north before U.S. authorities discovered them hidden in two cars crossing the border at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.

The birds -- squeezed into tiny cages with their beaks taped -- were found in side panels and under seats. Mexican officials said that, typically, for each bird that survives the journey, about five die.

“Today’s repatriation represents the best possible end for these

The seizures in October and August highlight the thriving smuggling trade in exotic birds, which sell for as much as $500 at swap meets, often in Los Angeles and Riverside counties, authorities said.

The two men arrested in the incidents have pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges and face potential five-year prison terms, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Anne Perry.

A surge in seizures -- 42 additional parrots were found this weekend -- has created a shortage of housing for the birds. Federal officials say they hope Monday’s exchange will lead to more birds being returned to their natural habitat. The 42 birds are still being held.

Federal authorities typically auction off birds that have been seized. But because Amazon parrots are a protected species under international trade laws, their sale is prohibited. Zoos are unwilling to take the parrots because of lack of space, Palladini said.

Smuggled birds can pose a threat to humans and poultry because of the possibility of disease, authorities said. The birds, which had been held in quarantine, were on display at a news conference at the Otay Mesa port of entry. Some were in wire cages, others in cat carriers.

Officials with the Mexican Department of Environmental Protection said the birds would be examined by veterinarians, returned to their natural habitat and released over the next few months.

“The repatriation of these animals represents a very important day for us,” said Ricardo Castellanos, an agency official.

The birds, a subspecies of Amazon parrots, are indigenous to lowlands and forested regions stretching from Sonora to southern Mexico, according to Lisa Nichols, an agent with Fish and Wildlife.

Officials said the smuggling takes varied and imaginative forms. Birds are stuffed into hair curlers or carried across the border in people’s pockets. They are often stuffed so tightly into tiny cages that many suffocate.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also assisted in the investigation.

The birds are unaccustomed to humans and lack the demeanor of parrots commonly found in pet stores. During the news conference, the birds were silent and scurried into corners when people came near.

If approached, “these guys would hiss and then raise the crest on the back of their heads,” said John Brooks, another federal agent. He advised against sticking a finger inside the cage.

“They’d tear your hand off,” he said.

Amazon parrots, which are green with yellow and red crowns, can talk, but those seized had not been around humans long enough to mimic speech, Brooks said.

When parrots do talk, they can help investigations, he added.

In a separate case, a U.S. man who said he kept birds only for breeding purposes came under suspicion for smuggling when the animals started squawking Spanish phrases.

“If the birds are speaking Spanish, that probably leads me to think that they are from across the border,” Brooks said.