From Pets to Pioneers: How Los Angeles’ Wild Parrots Thrive — and What Scientists Are Learning

Once kept as pets, now a familiar urban spectacle

A morning mist hung over Pasadena as palm fronds trembled and traffic hummed — a scene that felt more tropical than suburban northeast Los Angeles County. “It feels parrot-y,” says Diego Blanco, a research assistant at Occidental College’s Moore Laboratory of Zoology, nodding at the dense greenery: tall trees and ornamental shrubs heavy with berries.

Origins: a pet trade legacy

Blanco and the lab’s director, John McCormack, led me to a street corner to seek some of the city’s most conspicuous — and occasionally elusive — inhabitants: free-flying parrots. Most are bright green birds with a red crown commonly called red-crowned parrots, but the Los Angeles basin also hosts lilac-crowned parrots, yellow-crowned parrots and Nanday parakeets.

Imported from Mexico and South America during a pet-trade boom in the 1970s, many were kept as household companions — sometimes by notable owners — and several origin stories describe birds escaping from a pet-store fire or simply slipping out of cages over the decades. Those escaped birds acclimated, adapted and eventually established self-sustaining populations across Southern California.

Hybridization and genetic sleuthing

At first glance the flocks appear familiar. But serious science began when a parrot struck a library window at Occidental and was brought to the Moore Laboratory. Examining that specimen revealed traits of multiple species — features that would never meet in the wild in Mexico. McCormack, who curates a large Mexican bird collection dating back to the 1930s, used museum specimens as a historical baseline for comparison.

Genetic analyses comparing museum birds and modern samples now reveal hybridization among species that were geographically separated in their native ranges. Red-crowned and lilac-crowned parrots, for example, evolved on opposite coasts of Mexico and have been separated for one to two million years — but in Los Angeles these relatives are now interbreeding.

Adaptations to city life

Analyses of roughly 40–50 birds show biological shifts and signs of adaptation to conditions outside their native climate: different temperatures, different trees and altered rainfall patterns. The city environment — with its planted ornamental trees, steady food sources and milder microclimates — likely buffers extremes and helps the parrots thrive.

The birds’ diet relies heavily on imported ornamental plants, which reduces direct competition with many native species; their main predators are local raptors such as hawks. A 2019 study found 25 parrot species have formed self-sustaining populations across 23 U.S. states, from coastal to inland regions.

Conservation implications

In a surprising twist, some researchers see Los Angeles’ urban parrot populations as potential genetic reservoirs for endangered relatives in Latin America. Parrot populations in parts of Mexico are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trapping, and in at least some cases the wild Mexican population is believed to be smaller than the urban population in Los Angeles. Scientists have floated the idea — cautiously and with many caveats — that urban populations might someday aid conservation or reintroduction efforts.

Range expansion and ongoing studies

Field research also highlights potential range expansion. For example, Nanday parakeets in the Santa Monica Mountains appear to feed on sycamore seed balls and favor south-facing coastal canyons; habitat models suggest they could move into nearby ranges such as the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Researchers continue to study roosting and nesting behavior. Janel Ortiz at Cal Poly Pomona is investigating where parrots choose to sleep and whether busy roads act as predator buffers. She is also tracking their reliance on palm-tree cavities for nesting — a potential concern as many of Los Angeles’ palms age and are removed.

Local reaction and legal status

Locals have mixed feelings. “Some people think they’re a little noisy,” says Denys Hemen of the Audubon Center at Debs Park. “During the day you might hear one or two chattering somewhere in the tree. I personally love them.” Their loud calls — evolved to carry across jungle canopies — also work well in the urban landscape and help flock coordination.

Population estimates vary, but one study suggests there may be more than 3,000 red-crowned parrots in the region, a likely conservative figure. Because the birds are non-native, they lack specific protections under California law beyond basic anti-cruelty statutes. The California Bird Records Committee added these parrots to its list of established non-native species in 2021. The birds have also experienced targeted violence: in 2023 a man netted and killed several individuals, highlighting legal and ethical gaps.

What the parrots tell us about cities

Whether viewed as charming urban wildlife or noisy non-natives, Los Angeles’ parrots illustrate how cities become new ecosystems where unexpected partnerships form. McCormack and his colleagues describe the city as a kind of "freak-o-system" — a novel combination of species and conditions that can teach us about adaptation, hybridization and possible conservation strategies.

“It’s like a little piece of the tropics that’s been brought here,” Blanco says, watching a flock arc over a Pasadena sidewalk. “They bring with them the imagination of those ecosystems.”