A parrot just flew over your head! But you’re not in a jungle or a pet store. You’re in a city in South Texas. What are parrots doing here?

Right now, red-crowned Amazon parrots live in cities in Texas, California, Florida, and Hawaii. But they don’t belong in the United States. They belong in Mexico. Traders probably wanted to sell them as pets. But the parrots had other plans. They made a break for it!

Red-crowned Amazon parrots are big, green birds with red heads. Usually, the wild parrots live in big Mexican trees. In the forests, they nab all the nectar, flowers, fruit, and seeds they need. At least, they used to. But then many of them became part of the pet trade. Others lost their homes when Mexican forests were destroyed. Once, there were more than 100,000 wild red-crowned parrots. Now there may be only a few thousand left. But the country birds seem to love living in the city! Their populations in American cities aren’t shrinking. They are growing. Now more of the red-crowned parrots might live in United States cities than in Mexico!

American scientists have wondered for a while whether red-crowned parrots belong on the endangered species list. Now scientists have a chance to study the birds up close. The birds seem smart. They are resourceful. Even though they aren’t used to living in cities, they adapt easily.

But not everyone finds the parrots fun to live with. The birds make lots of noise. Many of the parrots’ new neighbors wish they would stay away. Some people shoot the birds. They also steal baby parrots from nests to sell as pets.

Scientists have a hard time telling exactly how many red-crowned parrots exist. Imagine counting thousands of darting birds! Biologists are working hard. They want to know where exactly the birds come from. They want to know how humans and parrots can live together well.