Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Resilient Red-Crowned Parrots

HARLINGEN, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — Recent rainfall in the Rio Grande Valley has been a boon to wildlife, and the Valley’s flocks of Red-crowned parrots are voicing their enthusiastic approval.

Parrots thrive amidst flowering and fruiting native plants like anacua that provide shelter and sustenance.

They nestle amidst prolific white flowers on some trees, while other anacuas bear rich yellow berries that are favorite treats for red crowns.

Nature has a way of providing for its denizens throughout the seasons, and as some plants flower others yield fruit like sugar hackberry.

Following bountiful blooms of native sabal palm, myriad yellow-gold flowers produce gleaming dark berries that parrots and other wildlife readily devour.

Perched on a swaying limb next to a ripe cluster of anacua berries, is a one-footed red crown. The parrot appears to be doing fine but is missing its right foot.

Unfortunately, this is not the only wild parrot in the area missing a foot, as another one has somehow lost its left foot. However, despite the disability, the red crown manages to balance on one foot while scratching with its stump.

It is a mystery how these birds lost their feet. Perhaps, an injury caused infection, and the foot withered away. Wild parrots are known to have territorial disputes, particularly over nesting habitat. Since they do have sharp and strong bills fighting might be a cause.

Another possibility is that the birds were somehow injured in a failed attempt at capture for the illegal pet trade.

Earlier this year, a red crown appeared with a blowgun dart embedded in its throat, making eating anacua berries quite challenging.

Weeks later, the parrot arrived with the deadly dart gone, apparently having worked its way out from the edge of the throat, and that sure made snatching berries a lot easier.

Fortunately, red crowns are as resilient as the native plants sustaining them, and nothing is more important than life-giving rains.

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