Abstract
They're Back ... Beware of Bargain BirdsOn 23 February I traveled to Mission, Texas to attend an
auction of confiscated birds. The selection being offered
included Yellow-naped, Yellow-headed, White-fronted, Redlored
and Lilac-crowned Amazon parrots as well as Half-moon
and Green Conures. Most birds appeared rather young with
some sporting attractive, dyed yellow heads, an often telltale
sign of birds of questionable origin.
Despite Texas being within several hundred miles of
Mexican parrot populations, species from northeastern Mexico
were in the minority at the auction. Hopefully this is due to the
Mexican border state of Tamaulipas's recent ban on internal
commerce in their native parrots. The most abundant species
being offered, with 50 or more next door for the next auction,
was the Yellow-naped. This bird appears to be suffering
heavily from illegal poaching in Guatemala and Honduras. It is
certainly a species that needs to be bred in larger numbers and
looked out for when the deal seems too good to be true.•