Mealy parrot – Tambopata is one of the best places to see parrots in the wild
13 November 2025 (249 visits)Our Tambopata rainforest home in southeastern Peru is one of the best places in the world to see parrots. Tambopata National Reserve, where we guide our guests on jungle trips, protects the best parrot and macaw clay licks in South America.
The mealy parrot is the largest member of the parrot family seen in the rainforests we visit with our guests, after the scarlet, blue and yellow, and red and green macaw.
Across their five subspecies, mealy parrots occupy a broad range that stretches all the way from Mexico to the southern Amazon jungle of Peru. Across many parts of their natural range, mealy parrot populations have decreased as a result of habitat loss, as well as capture and trafficking as part of the global pet trade. Although they are classified as near threatened in many parts of the Amazon, in the protected rainforests around our lodge mealy parrots are a relatively common sight. In our own Private Conservation Area and in neighboring Tambopata National Reserve, where we operate our guided jungle trips for those who travel to Peru, mealy parrots are often heard and seen in the forest canopy.
The screeching call of the southern mealy parrot (Amazona farinosa) is one of the most recognizable sounds in the raucous chorus heard by visitors to our part of the Amazon rainforest of Peru. And mealy parrots are often seen by our guests at clay licks, rainforest lakes and even in the trees surrounding our jungle lodge buildings.
The mealy parrot is mostly green and can measure up to 41 centimeters (16 inches) in length and weigh up to 700 grams (25 ounces). It is a social bird, and is spotted both in pairs and large flocks. At clay licks, it also joins mixed flocks, composed of parrots, parakeets and macaws. In common with other parrot species, mealy parrots tend to mate for life in a monogamous relationship.
The mealy parrot feeds mostly on fruits and seeds. This means that one of the best times to see this species is during the rainy season, when trees and other plants are in fruit. Its diet is also composed of berries, nuts and tree blossom.
