Fun Red-crowned Amazon Facts For Kids

The red-crowned parrot (Amazona viridigenalis), also known as the green-cheeked Amazon, or the Mexican red-headed parrot, is found in the canyon forests of Mexico, California, and southern Texas. Though this bird species is not native to the United States, as released cage parrots, they have established a sustainable breeding population in several large cities.

The red-crowned parrot is quite vocal, with a wide variety of calls that communicate different messages. This species is classed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Hopefully, with better conservation efforts and strict protection laws, the population of these parrots can recover and reach the population count that they had before they became an Endangered species.

If you liked these true facts about the red-crowned Amazon bird, then you'll surely like these facts about the Cuban Amazon and the turquoise parrot too!

Red-Crowned Amazon Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a red-crowned Amazon?

The red-crowned Amazon is an Endangered parrot bird.

What class of animal does a red-crowned Amazon belong to?

Red-crowned parrots belong to the Aves class of animals.

How many red-crowned Amazons are there in the world?

The red-cheeked Amazon bird is an Endangered species and a wild population of only 3,000-6,000 individuals is left in the natural habitat due to illegal trapping and habitat destruction in places such as northeastern Mexico.

Where does a red-crowned Amazon live?

This Amazon parrot is native to northeastern Mexico and is also found in the range of southern California, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Texas.

What is a red-crowned Amazon's habitat?

In the native range of the red-crowned parrot, these birds are found on uneven forest slopes and agricultural areas scattered in trees. They build their nests in tree cavities during the breeding season and use the same nest for incubating their eggs every year.

Who do red-crowned Amazons live with?

These parrots gather in large flocks, being noisiest in the morning and evening. The unusual screeching of these birds usually occurs when they travel in a large flock to a new feeding area and their flocks can grow up to more than 100 individuals.

How long does a red-crowned Amazon live?

The average lifespan of a red-crowned Amazon bird is 50 years in the wild, and they can live up to 70 years in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

Red-crowned Amazon parrots reach sexual maturity at the age of five years old. These green cheeked birds form a monogamous pair and live together for the rest of their lives.

They search for a tree cavity to lay eggs in, alongside other birds of the species, forming a breeding group. The incubation period for these red-crowned parrots is 28 days, with an average clutch size of four eggs.

What is their conservation status?

The red-crowned Amazon parrot is listed as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List due to the loss of natural habitat range in Mexico and illegal trapping for the pet trade. Feral red-crowned parrots have bred in urban areas of many cities in America, such as in Florida and California, which are now part of its range.

Red-Crowned Amazon Fun Facts

What do red-crowned Amazons look like?

The red-crowned Amazon, also known as the green-cheeked Amazon parrot, is a majestic and colorful bird that has dark green plumage with a bright red blaze extending from its beak to the red forehead. In some individuals, a patch of brilliant blue is visible behind the eyes.

The undersides of the tail feathers are a yellow or lime green color. It is impossible to differentiate males from females as they look identical.

How cute are they?

These parrots are very cute, adorable, and elegant. With their red crown and blue streak on top of their eyes, they can win over anyone with their natural, friendly, energetic, and comical behavior.

How do they communicate?

These Mexican red-headed birds are very vocal, communicating with each other through screeching and squawking. When kept in captivity, they are great mimics, copying words and sounds from their environment.

How big is a red-crowned amazon?

An adult red-crowned Amazon can grow up to 11-13 in (27.9-33 cm) in length from the head to the tip of its tail and 15-16 in (38.1-40.6 cm) in wingspan. It is a similar size to the thick billed parrot and Meyer's parrot.

How fast can a red-crowned amazon move?

The red-crowned parrot can fly at an average speed of 40 mph (64.3 kph). This parrot species is quite fast and can sometimes overtake bigger birds.

How much does a red-crowned amazon weigh?

An adult Amazon parrot weighs up to 9.5 oz (270 g). Males are slightly larger than females. These birds are very light compared to the blue and yellow macaw that weighs between 2.6-3.7 lb (1.2-1.7 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name for either sex of this species.

What would you call a baby red-crowned amazon?

A baby red-crowned parrot is called a chick.

Only the females take part in the incubation of the eggs while the males provide food to the chicks.

What do they eat?

The red-crowned Amazon parrot diet in the wild mostly consists of seeds, fruits, flowers, nectars, and berries. In captivity, these birds prefer high-quality pelleted food that supplements a seed mix, fruits, and vegetables.

Are they dangerous?

In captivity, the green-cheeked Amazon is a bird species known for its affection, caring, friendly, and comical nature. They are easy to socialize with and are usually friendly, but they tend to become jealous and aggressive towards other birds in captivity and in the wild.

Would they make a good pet?

Amazon parrots make excellent pets as they are highly intelligent, smart, beautiful, attractive, and active birds. Though these birds are usually good-natured and comical birds, they need one-on-one interaction for a few hours every day to keep the bird healthy and happy in captivity.

However, red-crowned Amazons are endangered in the wild due to illegal trapping for the pet trade, and it is illegal to import the wild birds into the United States.

Did you know...

Red-crowned parrots are non-migratory birds, but they move to a different location in large flocks during the winter for foraging.

The red-crowned Amazon is protected in two biosphere reserves: the Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra Gorda, in Querétaro and the Reserva de la Biosfera El Cielo, in Tamaulipas.

In 1992, the Wild Bird Conservation Act restricted imports of red-crowned Amazons into the U.S.

The illegal pet trade of the Mexican red-headed parrot and wildlife products is substantial in Mexico because of the lucrative profits and high demand.

How long does it take red-crowned Amazons to mature?

Juvenile parrots start fledging after nine weeks and this bird reaches sexual maturity at the age of five.

Conservation of red-crowned Amazon parrots

In Mexico, during 1982-2008, many laws were passed banning the export and collection of parrots. Red-crowned Amazon parrot sales became illegal. In addition, forest regeneration and a decline in logging during the past three decades have occurred in some areas, which has helped red-crowned parrots. However, it is still an Endangered species with a decreasing global population.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our golden conure facts and Eleonora cockatoo facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable parrot mask coloring pages.

Second image by Rachael Fogarty