The Carolina Parakeet was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States and the only member of its genus. A vivid green bird with a golden-yellow head and an orange face, it once moved through the forests of the eastern and central United States in large, noisy flocks. It was a familiar sight along river bottoms and cypress swamps well into the 19th century.
The species declined rapidly through the 1800s as forests were cleared, birds were shot for the millinery trade and as agricultural pests, and flocks were captured for the pet trade. A grim habit worsened the losses: when one bird was shot, the rest of the flock would circle back to the fallen companion, allowing hunters to kill many at once. The last known wild birds vanished around the turn of the century, and the last captive individual, a male named Incas, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in February 1918.
The Carolina Parakeet was unmistakable within its range, being the only native parrot. Adults showed bright grass-green body plumage, a yellow head and neck, and a reddish-orange forehead and face. There was no similar bird across most of North America, so any green parrot with a yellow head seen historically in the eastern states was this species.
| Head | Bright yellow with an orange-red forehead, cheeks and area around the bill |
| Body | Vivid green, paler and more yellowish below |
| Size | About 31 to 33 cm long, roughly the size of a Mourning Dove |
| Bill | Pale, stout and strongly hooked, typical of a parrot |
| Tail | Long and tapered, green |
| Juveniles | Mostly green with a faint reddish face and no full yellow hood |
The Carolina Parakeet was a loud, sociable bird. Historical observers described its flight call as a rapid, rolling series of harsh, shrill notes given constantly as flocks moved between roosts and feeding sites. The chorus of a large flock was said to be raucous and carrying, and the birds fell silent only when feeding quietly in the canopy.
The species ranged across the eastern and central United States, from the Gulf states north to Virginia and, less commonly, as far as New York and the upper Midwest, and west across the Mississippi valley into eastern Colorado. It favored mature bottomland forests, river margins, and cypress swamps, where large hollow trees provided roosting and nesting cavities.
Carolina Parakeets fed mainly on the seeds of forest trees and weeds, including cypress, sycamore, elm, pine, and especially cocklebur, whose toxic seeds the birds ate freely. They also took fruits, berries, and flower buds, and raided orchards and grain fields, which brought them into conflict with farmers who shot them in large numbers.
Nesting biology is poorly documented and some accounts conflict. The birds are generally thought to have nested in natural cavities of large trees in mature bottomland forest, sometimes in loose colonies. Clutches of several white eggs were reported, but many details of incubation and chick-rearing were never reliably recorded before the species disappeared.
- Monk Parakeet: An introduced green parrot now feral in parts of the US, but with a grey face and breast rather than a yellow head
- Thick-billed Parrot: A green Mexican parrot that historically reached the US Southwest, with a red forehead and no yellow hood
When did the Carolina Parakeet go extinct?
The last known wild birds died out in the early 1900s, and the last captive individual, a male named Incas, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in February 1918, the same location where the last Passenger Pigeon had died four years earlier.
Why did the Carolina Parakeet become extinct?
Several pressures combined: clearing of the mature bottomland forests it depended on, shooting for feathers and as a crop pest, capture for the pet trade, and the flock's fatal habit of returning to fallen companions, which let hunters kill many birds at once.
Was it really the only parrot native to the eastern US?
Yes. The Carolina Parakeet was the only parrot species native to the eastern United States and one of only a few parrots whose range reached temperate North America.
Were Carolina Parakeets poisonous?
Not exactly, but they ate the toxic seeds of cocklebur, and there were reports that cats died after eating the parakeets, suggesting the birds may have retained toxins from their food.