# Look What I Got In Today ..



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I believe this is a Lilac Crowned Amazon Parrot. It was being chased by a hawk and crashed into a window and was comatose for several hours. A kind lady got it in a box and brought it to me at my work today.

Terry


----------



## Columba livia! (May 4, 2009)

How sweetness!


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Columba livia! said:


> How sweetness!


Yep .. except it is a wild parrot and not real keen on being handled  I didn't detect any broken parts when I examined the bird (that's after gloving up and cranking up my courage to do the exam). I will look after the bird until my rehabber friend is back in town and can have a look. She is somewhat of a wild parrot expert. If the bird is OK, it will likely be released back where it was found.

Terry


----------



## lwerden (May 31, 2008)

Hi Terry..........The Bird is absolutely beautiful. I had absolutely no idea that there were wild parrots in So. Calif.. Do they fly up from Mexico/Central Amer.? I thought that these type of birds were strictly house birds purchased from breeders here in the States.

In any case, I am glad he excaped the Hawk and that he is now safe with you.

Regards,
Louise


----------



## Flying Jay (Jul 6, 2009)

real beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Lovely bird, Terry. 

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

I can't believe there are wild parrots in Ca. It is a beautiful bird. Really pretty. min


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

There are wild parrots in Chicago, NY, Oregon, Washington, San Francisco and other places too.


----------



## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Wow, Terry!! Glad you haven't lost any body parts.  That is one fortunate parrot to have been rescued!


----------



## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

WELL DONE, TERRY!!

A beautiful bird!! Hope all goes well with him!

We have wild Lovebirds around here...not to mention other kinds of birds!

Love and Hugs
Shi


----------



## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I've heard of the wild parrots/keets (I believe they were monk parakeets?) in Texas but I didn't even think of them being in Cali. Such a beautiful bird! Hope it recovers from all the drama soon!


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

Charis, there are wild parrots in all those states that you mentioned. Not saying its not true just having a hard time believing it. So they can live in the cold climates or do they migrate? I grew up in IL and never saw a wild parrot. Wish I did they are beautiful. min


----------



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

What a beautiful bird. I'm glad he'll be okay. 

We have the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill here near SF:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Parrots_of_Telegraph_Hill


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

oh what a beauty, hope he feels better real soon.
i would just love to see parrots in the wild, as for exam, just make sure you have control of that head the whole time!! 2nd pair of hands would be very helpful, zons have a nasty bite, believe me i know!


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

There are TONS of wild parrots here in So Cal .. also in Nor Cal .. and in other areas of the U.S. .. the Quaker Parrots on the East Coast and mostly a few breeds of Amazons here on the West Coast. When they go to their night roost it is sort of like seeing and hearing a huge murder of crows going to roost .. hundreds of birds and INCREDIBLE noise.

This particular little parrot is doing fine. Has eaten and taken water during the day today and still FLUFFING up at me when I approach to check on it. I will try to get a really good picture before this one leaves here .. it is unbelievably beautiful!

Terry


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

altgirl35 said:


> oh what a beauty, hope he feels better real soon.
> i would just love to see parrots in the wild, as for exam, just make sure you have control of that head the whole time!! 2nd pair of hands would be very helpful, zons have a nasty bite, believe me i know!


Hear, hear! I got that figured out loud and clear!  I have a Mobrella, an African Grey, a Nanday Conure and bunches of smaller hookbills, so I kinda know the routine. I knew that this little wild parrot could put a real number on me, but I was careful and gentle, and so was s/he .. I won't be pushing my luck, however! 

Terry


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

lol, i still have a numb spot on my bottom lip from a requested kiss at the wrong time, lol


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Hmmmm .. This One Is Probably Going To Stay Here*

I'm having doubts about whether this is really a wild parrot or an escaped or released pet. It has settled in nicely and even from the first day eagerly picks out the Kaytee Rainbox Exact from the food bowl before moving on to the other items. It also eats seeds eagerly but isn't too keen on fruits and vegetables.

Though it is wary and watches me carefully, it doesn't seem particularly concerned when I have my hands in the cage to clean and replenish food and water. 

Unless it is still pretty confused/dazed from hitting the window, it seems way too calm to me to be a wild parrot. That combined with how eagerly it eats the pelleted food makes me wonder.

Sooooo .. I think we will just keep the status quo for the time being.

I have checked the lost bird lists, Craigslist, and have asked the lady who found the bird to keep an eye out for flyers in the area where it was found. Thus far, nobody seems to be looking for this bird. 

I'll keep you posted.

Terry


----------



## Mindy (Apr 2, 2009)

Glad to hear your keeping him for the time being. If you think its a pet parrot then you are probably right. Of course I have never seen a wild parrot, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be doing what this one is doing. He is a pretty bird so at least he is nice to look at. But I guess they all are. min


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Mindy said:


> Glad to hear your keeping him for the time being. If you think its a pet parrot then you are probably right. Of course I have never seen a wild parrot, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be doing what this one is doing. He is a pretty bird so at least he is nice to look at. But I guess they all are. min


Thanks, Mindy. We'll just see how it goes. The real problem for me taking on another parrot is my age. I already have two that will likely outlive me by decades. Adding a third long lived bird is probably not the most intelligent thing I could do (but I'll probably do it anyway). Those of us who have birds that can live to be 40-80 years old or even older have to make sure that we have provided for those birds in the likely event that they are going to out live us. I have no idea how old this Amazon is, but Lucas and Junebug are just kids (both less than 10 years old).

Terry


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

if he's eating pellets i would wonder also, it took me a year of pellet introduction to get my adopted parrots to eat them.
have you tried posting on cl and parrot911.
one way to guess on the age is as they get older, their beaks and feet get more scaled, my 41 yr olds zons feet make my 21yr old look like a baby's.
i betcha he would like some pasta, wish i could take him he is a beauty


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

talk to him alot, if he starts talking back it will confirm your suspicion


----------



## hasseian_313 (Oct 31, 2009)

its not realy a wild parrot friend so id keep her the only north amarican parrot specias ws the california paroket and they are extinct so realy it must be a realised or a run away


----------



## hasseian_313 (Oct 31, 2009)

wish i lived in cali i could have adopted it


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

i think they have the mexican red headed amazon in so cal also


----------



## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

and the cherry headed conure, rent the parrots of telegraph hill, it a great documentary


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm glad the bird has settled in nicely and that it is in under your care.

Don't people band these birds when they are domestic hatchlings, like we do for our pigeons? It amazes me how such beautiful pets can go unbanded.


----------



## hasseian_313 (Oct 31, 2009)

they must be intruduced over the years i guess


----------



## Grim (Jul 28, 2007)

Very beautiful bird. I have a yellow nape who is about a year old and already talks up a storm and even sings opera. She is banded though.


----------



## starlinglover95 (May 6, 2009)

he is gourgeous. the parrots here aren't really native wild parrots - they have been introduced into the U.S. and escaped or were released and went feral. our only native parrot, the carolina parakeet, went extinct quite a while back for the same reason passenger pigeons went extinct. if he really is a lilac crowned amazon he is most likely a pet that had escaped. not trying to sound like a know-it-all or anything because that definately is *not* the case, but when i get bored i read my book of north american bird history. . again TAWhatley; beautiful bird.


----------



## starlinglover95 (May 6, 2009)

Grim said:


> Very beautiful bird. I have a yellow nape who is about a year old and already talks up a storm and even sings opera. She is banded though.


awwwww thats cute


----------



## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Terry,

That is a gorgeous bird! I would lean toward thinking it is a captive bird that got out. It may have joined a wild flock. I have never seen the lilac crowned Amazons in any of the wild flocks in OC. We had a huge flock in Santa Ana where we used to live. I'm glad you have it. Our rehabber friend may have some knowledge about them as she has worked with so many over the years. Thanks for the picture.

Margaret


----------



## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Trees Gray said:


> I'm glad the bird has settled in nicely and that it is in under your care.
> 
> Don't people band these birds when they are domestic hatchlings, like we do for our pigeons? It amazes me how such beautiful pets can go unbanded.


I thought domestic bred parrots were suppose to be banded - to show that they weren't illegally imported.
If he settled in that quickly, by bet is he's an escapee. He's very cute


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks for the comments, everyone. My thinking about the lack of band on this parrot is that it may have been wild caught or stolen from the nest and smuggled in from Mexico .. sad .. but it happens pretty frequently here in our part of the world.

This little parrot is a lean, mean, eatin' machine .. can't believe how much it is eating. If it was an escapee or releasee then I can understand how it would be starving, but sheesh, it devours copious amounts of food.

Terry


----------

