Bird's Eye View

The rarest species of parrot in the United States is the Thick-billed
parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha). Thick-billed parrots are
currently only found in the highland and pine forests of New Mexico
and Mexico. Although they lived in parts of Arizona at one time,
they are no longer found there due to pine forests being cleared out for the mining industry. They live in large flocks of up to 1000 birds. In the morning they separate into smaller flocks to look for food, coming together at night in large pine trees to sleep. The diet of the Thick-billeds is made up primarily of pine seeds, fruits, acorns, and other plant materials. In the summer months these birds travel north, and then return south again in the winter. It is thought that they go where the pine seed production is higher.

Nesting in the wild occurs from July to September in large, dead pine trees, abandoned woodpecker holes, or other tree cavities. The clutches of each pair in the flocks can range anywhere from 1-4 eggs, and are then incubated up to 30 days. By late October or early November, these birds are ready to fledge.


Currently, Thick-billed parrots are endangered due to logging and the pet trade. The World Bird Sanctuary is working with several other organizations to breed them in captivity, and then reintroduce them into Arizona. The World Bird Sanctuary has a small breeding flock on display.

Nicknamed “The Christmas Parrot," Thick-billed parrots are extremely colorful birds! I took these pictures of a small flock we have at our Education Training Center. Even though they’re cute and look harmless, parrots can apply 1000 pounds of pressure, and it only takes 7 pounds of pressure to break a human finger! Strong beaks like that come in handy when they’re trying to break open hard nutshells.


Bird's Eye View is a regular column, written and photographed by our volunteer Daniel.