Parrots of Southern California, our favorite chatty neighbors

Brenda Ramirez

Tue, Sep 17, 2024 7:00 PM

Free-Flying Los Angeles Parrot Project (FLAPP), Moore Lab of Zoology.

Non-native parrots have become a very present and boisterous element of the urban ecosystems throughout Southern California. Ranging from cities to more natural areas, parrots can be found in a variety of habitats where they coexist with people. Through the Free-Flying Los Angeles Parrot Project (FLAPP) on iNaturalist, Brenda and her team created a dataset focused on two of the more prominent species in Southern California, the Red-crowned and Lilac-crowned Parrots.

After being introduced through the illegal pet trade, these sister-species have established their populations and even created mixed-species flocks that would not be possible otherwise. Their research has focused on distinguishing the two species based on morphological features, comparing the environmental conditions between their respective native ranges and their introduced range, and we are now shifting to understanding how their genetic makeup has been affected.

Join us to learn how you can help contribute to our research from your own neighborhoods!

The livestream can be found at our YouTube channel.