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.
The ITESM Campus Monterrey carry out environmental education programs and science research in Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey and Sierra de Arteaga for the conservation of Maroon-fronted Parrots.
Resources
- BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Rhynchopsitta terrisi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/6/2006
- Howell, Steven N. G. & Webb, Sophie (1995): A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York. ISBN 0-19-854012-4
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet.
- Maroon-fronted Parrot - Photos by Rene Valdes
- ITESM site
- Maroon-fronted Parrot photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
