MEALY PARROT

Did you know? You can find these bright, loud parrots near our Rainforest Expedition lodges!

The Mealy Parrot’s cackling, loud screeches are one of the most raucous sounds you hear at Rainforest Expeditions’ Amazon jungle lodges. These large, green parrots (known as Amazona farinosa) are common residents of our Tambopata, Peru forest home.

Just like other members of the parrot family, they have loud voices and love to use them! The Mealy Parrot’s screeches echo around our secluded lodges, and you’ll often spot the birds themselves as they fly past the canopy towers, or take clay from the clay licks (colpas).

The canopy towers at our Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas lodges are some of the best spots to take in this dawn chorus. Not every bird, however, sings in tune. As the morning sun burns off the mist above the rainforest, birdsong resounds from the canopy’s sea of green. From Toucans to Macaws to Trogons, hundreds of bird species call from deep within the dim forest. Suddenly, your ears prick up as the Mealy Parrot shrieks and cackles through the disappearing mist.

Mealy Parrot Fun Facts

• White-shaded back: The back and nape often have a whitish tinge. This makes the parrots look like they’re covered in flour or “meal,” which explains their name!


• One of the largest parrots in the Amazon: In Tambopata, the only members of the Psittacidae family larger than the Mealy Parrot are the Scarlet, Blue and Yellow, and Red and Green Macaws.


• Wide-ranging, successful bird: Mealy Parrots live in the canopy of lowland rainforests from southeastern Mexico to the southern Amazon jungle.


• Five subspecies: The Mealy Parrot has five different sub-types. Some have a bluish tinge, whereas others sport a little yellow. Tambopata’s Mealy Parrots are the Chapmani subspecies, so they have blue-green feathers on their heads.


• Nest in tree cavities: Like other parrots, Mealy Parrots nest in tree cavities. As with macaws, the number of good nesting spots probably limits the whole population.


• Feed on fruits and seeds: You’ll often spy this large parrot feeding on the unripe fruits and seeds of various Amazonian trees.


• Make seasonal movements: We believe that Mealy Parrots migrate short (or even long) distances in the Amazon! This theory makes sense, as different numbers of Mealy Parrots show up at our Tambopata clay licks at different times of the year.