Caltech Wildlife: Parrots and Parakeets

A feasting red-crowned amazon south of Red Door.

Here is a simple test of conscious living: ask a friend whether they’ve ever noticed the loud cries in the sky at sunrise and sunset. If they have no idea what you are talking about, they are missing a surprising amount of life. Give them a concerned look and point them to this article.

It still shocks me that some Caltech students, after years in Pasadena, have never paid attention to these jet-engine-decibel calls. Others have noticed them, but wrongly blamed the crows. Please, just look up! You will see shades of green, wings flapping furiously overhead, every single day. Parrots and parakeets cannot soar like hawks or ravens; they must flap for every meter of flight. They are such a distinctive sight here that I am convinced they deserve a spot on Pasadena’s tourist checklist.

In our previous issue about bird immigrants, I briefly mentioned the most abundant parrot species in Pasadena: the red-crowned amazons. Their story here is almost mythical. Native to Mexico, they were driven toward endangerment by poaching in the pet trade. Yet through a mix of accidents, most famously a pet shop fire, and pet releases, a large population established itself in Pasadena. Nowadays, only a few thousand red-crowned amazons remain worldwide, and more than half of them are in Pasadena.

A pair of yellow-chevroned parakeets on a (quite intense) date.

Red-crowned amazons make up roughly 90% of Pasadena’s parrots, but they are far from the only parrot species in the region. The different species are best distinguished by their calls. Compared to the murder-level screams of redcrowns, yellow-headed amazons are slightly more refined. Their “wow wow wow” calls sound almost like admiration for Los Angeles sunsets. They are also excellent mimics of human speech when kept as pets — perhaps one reason fewer were released to the wild.

Then there are the parakeets — a smaller, livelier subgroup of parrot species. If the amazons are loud, repetitive declarations, the parakeets are conversations: chattering, varied, and just a bit quieter. They often travel in pairs or trios at dusk, and their longer tails than parrots are the most prominent feature in flight. Pasadena hosts a colorful mix of parakeets, including yellow-chevroned, red-masked, and mitred parakeets. You can spot them over campus at the right hours, or more reliably at places like the Huntington Library.

Parakeets always look at you with curiosity. The leftmost one, with much more red on its head, is a red-masked parakeet, and the rest in the photo are mitred parakeets.

Although these parrots are introduced, they coexist surprisingly well with native birds (aside from occasionally being chased off for excessive volume). Diet plays a role: they favor fruits from non-native trees, which Pasadena has in abundance. The Caltech campus, for instance, is full of silk floss trees that serve as an excellent buffet.

After their loud announcements at sunrise, parrots become almost discreet during the day. When feeding, they are quiet, and their green feathers blend seamlessly into the foliage. They remind me of graduate students sneaking into seminars unnoticed for the free lunch.

Two weeks ago, I found them by accident while standing under a tree near Red Door, when I felt crumbs raining down on me. Looking up, I spotted a pair of amazons feasting, nearly invisible among the leaves. They made no sound as they ate — only the steady crack of husks under their powerful beaks. With remarkable dexterity, they climbed and hung upside down, handling seed pods like skewers at a barbecue.

A pair of yellow-headed amazons in the city light.

Winter is the best time to see parrot flocks. During this season, parrots from across the region gather for what can only be described as evening socials. Large flocks converge toward shared roosts, filling the sky and the air with incessant shrills. Though they live in tight family units, they actively attend large gatherings for matchmaking. Young parrots meet future partners and form monogamous bonds that can last decades — till death do they part.

This year, one such gathering spot picked Pasadena City Hall. Even now, way into spring, you can still spot quite a few lingering there in the evenings. Imagine meeting your one lifelong partner in a violet sunset, surrounded by thousands of encouraging voices, and deciding on that very evening to spend every day together from that moment on. How romantic!

So the next time parrots wake you at dawn, I hope you will be a little more forgiving. These are just fellow Pasadena residents who try to be friendly and enthusiastically invite you to rise and join the day.

A small fraction of the parrots fly over Pasadena City Hall. Note that parrots have thicker wing shapes and shorter tails compared to crows or ravens, and many of them are in pairs or trios.

All photos courtesy of Jieyu Zheng.

This is a very loud portrait of a red-crowned amazon.