Green Parakeet

Psittacara holochlorus

OrderPsittaciformes

FamilyPsittacidae

HabitatCity parks, palm groves, and residential neighborhoods

SeasonYear-round in the Lower Rio Grande Valley

LocationBuena Vista Cemetery, Brownsville, Texas, Cameron County, Texas

Size12-13 inches

DietSeeds, fruit, flowers, and nuts

ConservationLeast Concern (IUCN)

CameraNikon Z9Lens800mmAperturef/8Shutter1/1000ISO180

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Green Parakeet, a Rio Grande Valley specialty, at Buena Vista Cemetery.

About the Green Parakeet

The Green Parakeet is the big, all-green parakeet of Brownsville, McAllen, and Harlingen. Flocks fly over the cities at dusk with loud, screeching calls and gather to roost in tall palms and trees in parking lots and neighborhoods.

Its origin in Texas has been debated for years. Some birds likely came from the pet trade, but the species is native just south of the border in northeastern Mexico, and the Texas population is now well established and officially countable for birders.

This one was photographed on December 23, 2024, at Buena Vista Cemetery in Brownsville, one of the many urban spots where the Rio Grande Valley's parrots and parakeets feed.

Want to see a Green Parakeet in the wild?
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