Red-masked Parakeet
| Psittacara erythrogenys | Order: Psittaciformes | Family: Psittacidae (New World and African Parrots) |
Psittacara erythrogenys
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae (New World and African Parrots)
The Red-masked Parakeet is a medium-sized conure native to Ecuador and Peru, where it lives in jungles and deciduous forests. Domestic bird breeders call it the cherry-headed or red-headed conure, and consider it to be the best talker of all the conures.
As with many parrots, the popularity of the Red-masked Parakeet brought it to bird-keepers all over the world, and escapees have become established in Florida and California. It isn’t considered “countable” in Florida yet, but in 2023, when I went there to get my “ABA Continental Life List” over 700, I already had this one on my life list because I’d seen it in California in 2019, where it was considered established and countable.