Maroon-fronted Parrot

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iMaroon-fronted Parrot
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Rhynchopsitta
Species: R. terrisi
Binomial name
Rhynchopsitta terrisi
Moore,RT, 1947

The Maroon-fronted Parrot Rhynchopsitta terrisi is a large, macaw-like parrot. It is dark green with a dark red shoulder and a maroon forehead and eye-stripe. Its wings and tail appear to be black when it is in flight. It makes a high, rolling cr-a ak sound. Groups sound similar to the Acorn Woodpecker if they are heard from a distance.

Maroon-fronted Parrots live in mature pine, mixed conifer, and pine-oak forests from 2000 to 3500 meters. They nest in limestone cliffs near moving water in large colonies. This bird is endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, Mexico. Breeding coincides with the fruition of pines, which is its main food source, and they lay one to three eggs in July. These juveniles fledge around November. They migrate over short distances seasonally.

This bird is considered vulnerable due to overgrazing and habitat destruction. It is estimated that only 2500-3000 birds remain, while 95 to 110 young are produced in a year.

[edit] Resources

BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Rhynchopsitta terrisi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/6/2006

A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Howell and Webb ISBN 0-19-854012-4