The Yellow-eared Parrot is a large, robust parrot of the northern Andes, instantly known by the splash of yellow across its forehead, cheeks and ear region set against an otherwise deep green body. Heavy-billed and long-tailed, it travels in noisy, tight-knit flocks that wheel over montane cloud forest, calling loudly as they move between feeding and roosting sites.
Its fortunes are bound tightly to the Quindio wax palm, Colombia's national tree, which the parrot relies on for both food and nest sites. By the late 1990s the species had crashed to a few hundred birds and was feared close to extinction. Intensive protection of palm stands, nest boxes and community campaigns have since driven a steady recovery, making it one of the more hopeful conservation stories among Neotropical parrots.
This is a big, unmistakable parrot within its range. Look for the combination of green upperparts, paler lime-green underparts, a massive black bill and the vivid yellow face that gives the bird its name. In flight the long tail and rapid, direct wingbeats stand out, and flocks are usually detected by sound long before they are seen.
| Size | Large parrot, about 42 cm (17 in) long |
| Face | Bright yellow forehead, cheeks and ear patches |
| Body | Deep green above, paler lime-green below |
| Bill | Very heavy and black |
| Eye | Ring of bare dark skin around the eye |
| Tail | Long and tapered, green above |
Yellow-eared Parrots are highly vocal, especially in flight. Flocks give loud, far-carrying nasal and metallic calls that have been likened to a chorus of trumpeting or honking notes. This constant contact calling helps keep the tight flocks together as they move across open cloud forest, and it is often the first clue to their presence.
Today the species is essentially restricted to the Andes of Colombia, mainly in the Central and Western cordilleras, after formerly ranging south into Ecuador where it is now considered gone. It favours humid montane and cloud forest, typically between about 2,500 and 3,000 metres, wherever stands of wax palm survive alongside forest patches and pasture edges.
The diet centres heavily on the fruit of the Quindio wax palm, supplemented by a range of other fruits, seeds and flowers gathered in the forest canopy. By moving between palm stands and forest trees the flocks act as seed dispersers and pollinators, linking the parrot's survival directly to the health of the palms it depends on.
Pairs nest in cavities high in wax palms, often 25 metres or more above the ground in dead or hollow trunks. A typical clutch is around four eggs. The species is a cooperative and social breeder, with birds nesting in loose groups and helpers sometimes attending nests, and the reliance on tall palms for cavities makes protecting mature palms essential to its recovery.
- Military Macaw: Also large and green with red facial markings, but much bigger with a long macaw tail and bare facial skin.
- Scarlet-fronted Parakeet: Green Andean parrot but smaller and slimmer, with red only on the forehead rather than a full yellow face.
Why is the Yellow-eared Parrot so dependent on wax palms?
Wax palms provide both its main food, the palm fruit, and the tall hollow trunks it needs for nesting. When palms were logged and their seedlings grazed by livestock, the parrot lost food and nest sites at the same time, which is why palm protection has been central to its recovery.
Is the Yellow-eared Parrot still endangered?
It is listed as Vulnerable, an improvement from earlier when it was considered Critically Endangered. Sustained conservation work in Colombia has allowed the population to grow, but it remains restricted in range and reliant on continued protection.
Where can you see one?
The best places are protected cloud forest reserves in the Colombian Andes where wax palms and the parrots are actively managed, particularly in the Central Cordillera.
Does it really occur only in Colombia now?
Effectively yes. It once ranged into Ecuador but has not been reliably recorded there in recent decades, so surviving populations are essentially confined to Colombia.