Orange fronted parakeet

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Rowdy, Noisy, Honorary Guests at Anniversary Celebrations
These guys always seem to make it on time for our city anniversary celebrations, they are noisy, they come in large groups, dressed in bright green, it is hard to imagine someone who has not noticed their arrival.
They may appear as just any kind of birds, but once you see them turn and the sun shines on their backs, they are unmistakeable.

These parrots will stay for the whole summer, people call them "pericos" but their real name is:
(Spanish) *Perico frentinaranja* ;
(English) Orange fronted parakeet;
(Latin) *Aratinga canicularis.*
They are hard to spot because their two shades of green blend in very well with the color of the leaves of the trees. But their voice will betray them and if you are patient you will start to tell them from the leaves.
Many people (including me before I arrived in Puerto Vallarta), have in their heads the image of a parrot perched, but, in the wild you are most likely to see them flying. In pairs or in flocks of around thirty and being very noisy like the party animals they are.

Once we were offered a parrot at the market and my kids asked me to buy him (excuse me. we Mexicans always address animals by he or she), I just told them "why, we already have about 40 of them." On one of the tall trees by my place there are usually about that many, and in the bay area there must be several thousands of them.

by Eduardo Rincón-Gallardo