Last Updated on: 1st November 2023, 10:57 pm
The dominant color of parrots is green. Due to the mix of colors in their feathers, each green parrot has a unique and colorful kaleidoscope pattern, making it unique and eye-catching.
Despite only having red and yellow pigments, parrots appear green due to light reflecting off their feather structures. This light-scattering process produces a green effect.
According to The Journal of Experimental Biology, green feathers reflect blue-green light due to “spongy nanostructured barb cells.” Green feathers are due to a pigment filtering short-wavelength blue light.
According to Science Illustrated, melanin and feather structure determine parrots’ colors. The lightness and darkness of feathers depend on melanin levels.
Green Parrot Varieties
Green is the predominant color of parrots’ feathers, but there are often hints of blue, yellow, and red.
Many parrots are only found in the wild due to their threatened conservation status. In contrast, others are commonly observed in captivity as their numbers remain robust.
Here’s a list of the types of green or primarily green parrot species:
Quaker Parrots
The Quaker parrot (Myiopsitta monachus) is called the Quaker parakeet, monk parrot, and monk parakeet. Their origin lies in South America, notably Argentina.
Adult Quakers have bright green colors on their head, wings, and back.
Their breast, cheeks, and throalored gray, and their flight feathers are blue. You’ll find the undersides of their tails are light green.
Their name comes from the gray section on the front of their neck, resembling a Quaker bib.
Quakers measure 11-12 inches from beak to tail and weigh 100 grams.
Amazon Parrots
Amazon parrots (Amazona) have bright green bodies, and their size is species-specific. Their heads and foreheads bear unique markings.
There are over 30 species, each with unique forehead feathers that can be colored in shades like red, lilac, yellow, and blue.
The Southern Mealy Amazon parrot measures 15-16 inches, making it the largest bird, whereas the white-fronted Amazon parrot, which measures 9.8 inches, is the smallest.
They inhabit the Amazon Basin in South America, Mexico, and the West Indies.
Ama were initially called “kriken” (French for screechers), are noisy birds.
Military Macaws
The primary color of military macaws (Ara militaris) is green, with lime green crowns and varying shades of green on their large bodies.
They have black beaks. They’re adorned with pale blue edges on their wings, striking reds and yellows in their tail feathers, and a bright red strip of feathers directly above the beak.
Males and females weigh 2 to 2.5 pounds and measure 27 to 33 inches.
Three subspecies of military macaws have been identified:
- Ara militaris militaris.
- Ara militaris mexicana.
- Ara militaris boliviana.
Military macaws are native to Central and South America, including countries like Argentina and Mexico. They live in flocks of up to 40 birds and are social creatures.
Cliff faces and treetops are their preferred nesting places because they keep predators at bay.
Lovebirds
With their stocky build, pointy beaks, and short, blunt feathers, Agapornis are called “‘pocket parrots.” The primary color of their feathers is green, with distinct colors on their upper body based on their species.
These small birds measure only 5 to 6.5 inches and weigh 45 to 60 grams. The black-winged lovebird is the largest genus, measuring 6.5 inches and weighing 58 grams.
All 9 species of lovebirds are native to the grassland regions (forests, woodlands, savannas, and shrublands) of Africa, notably Madagascar.
Below are listed the 9 species of lovebirds:
- Peachface lovebirds.
- Fischer’s lovebirds.
- Black-masked lovebirds.
- Madagascar lovebirds.
- Black-cheeked lovebirds.
- Black-collared lovebirds.
- Red-faced lovebirds.
- Abyssinian lovebirds.
- Lilian’s lovebirds.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, lovebirds are known to mate for life and long for each other.
Senegal Parrots
Senegal parrots (Poicephalus senegalus) have green chests and wings with grey heads. They also have a red, orange, or yellow v-shaped patch on their stomachs. Senegals have an intense look.
They’re small parrots (9 inches long and weigh 120-170 grams). Their heads and beaks are disproportionately large relative to their bodies.
Senegals parrots are native to West Africa, dwelling in woodland areas. They’re most commonly found in Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, and the Ivory Coast.
Senegals are calm and relatively quiet yet fun-loving and clever parrots. They make fewer screeching and screaming sounds, preferring to make clucking and whistling vocalizations.
Maroon-Bellied Conures
Green is the dominant color of maroon-bellied conures (Pyrrhura frontalis).
The green is darker on their wings and back and lighter on the stomach. There’s a scaly-looking area on the sides of the neck and beneath the neckline.
Underneath the tail, the feathers are a mesmerizing mix of blue, purple, and crimson. The lower abdomen usually features two parallel patches that are a soft crimson color.
Maroon-bellied conures are about 10 to 11 inches long and weigh 90 grams.
The maroon-bellied conure is found in South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. They prefer to live in woodlands and the edges of forest areas.
They’re less noisy than other conures but make shrill shrieks and squeals when excited.
Budgerigars
Budgies (Melopsittacus undulatus) originate from Australia and live in woodland and grassland areas. Budgies usually live in flocks of up to 100 birds, but their numbers grow during rainfall.
In th U.S., budgies are called American parakeets. Green is the only natural color of wild budgies, but they usually have flashes of yellow on their heads and bodies and ‘black scalloping’ on their wings.
Most budgies are 7 to 8 inches long and weigh 35 grams. They live for up to 6 years in the wild.
Great Green Macaws
Great green macaws (Ara ambiguus) look like military macaws. Both birds are primarily green, but great green macaws have lime-green feathers.
They have a red forehead, light blue feathers around the lower back and upper tail, and the rest of the tail is a brown-red color with a soft blue tip.
They’re large birds, measuring 32-33 inches long and weighing almost 3 pounds.
Great green macaws (also known as Buffon’s or great military macaws) live in Central and Southern America, including Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.
They’re herbivorous birds, feeding on fruits, flowers, almendro seeds, nuts, roots, and bark. Great green macaws are often observed licking clay, which neutralizes harmful toxins.
Red-Shouldered Macaws
Red-shouldered macaws, also known as Hacaws (Diopsittaca nobilis), are small and compact birds. They’re the smallest macaw, measuring 12 inches long and weighing 4.5 to 6 ounces.
They’re primarily bright green with many turquoise or aqua feathers on the top of their head. Hahn’s macaws get their name from the bright red feathers underneath their wings.
Hahn’s macaws live in South America, including Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Peru. They thrive in lowland areas of tropical forests close to lakes and rivers.
Hahn’s are usually loyal to one bird, breeding just once annually. They nest in hollowed-out trees and cliff faces, where the female will produce a clutch of 2-5 eggs.
They’re vocal and noisy birds but are widely regarded as the best talkers in the macaw family.
Little Lorikeets
Little lorikeets (Glossopsitta pusilla) are primarily green with a striking red face called the mask. Some have yellow feathers on their shoulders, the back of the neck, and toward the tail.
They’re tiny birds that measure about 6 to 7.5 inches long and weigh 35 to 50 grams.
Little lorikeets (also called red-faced and tiny lorikeets) live in Eastern and Southern Australia in forest and woodland areas where Eucalypts (gum trees) are most prevalent.
They’re less boisterous than other lorikeet species, with friendly and amenable personalities.
Indian Ringneck Parakeets
Indian ringneck parakeets (Psittacula krameria) are lime green with yellow feathers under their wings. They’re sexually dimorphic, meaning that males can be distinguished from females based on appearance.
Males have red beaks, black facial markings, and 3 bands of color around the neck. The classic black ring becomes visible around the neck after about 18 months.
Indian ringnecks (also called rose-ringed parakeets) are 16 inches long and weigh 115 to 140 grams.
They live in flocks of up to 100 birds in many parts of Asia (especially India and Pakistan), Sudan, and the Middle East. They have a preference for areas with fewer trees, notably farmland.
They’re noisy birds and will vocalize loudly (squawking and shrieking) to warn flock members of threats (like predators), which is how they earned the name ‘sentinels.’
Eclectus Parrots (Male)
Male Eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus) are bright emerald green with red and blue feathers underneath their wings. Their beaks are orange, and their feathers are fuzzy and soft.
They differ from females, who are mostly bright red with black beaks. This is called reverse sexual dichromatism. Both genders have relatively large heads and short tails.
Eclectus are medium-sized birds. They’re 12 to 14.5 inches long and weigh 14 to 15 ounces.
They live in New Guinea and northeastern Australia, including Queensland, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Moluccas. They favor tropical rainforests and eucalypt woodlands.
Eclectus parrots produce a startling honking sound and ‘ contact call’ that can reach 115 decibels.
Pacific Parrotlets
Most Pacific parrotlets (Forpus coelestis) are bright green with short tails. Unlike females, male parrotlets have bright blue splashes of color on their backs and behind their eyes (called eyeshadow).
Pacific parrotlets are a small parrot species, reaching only 4.5 – 5.5 inches long, rarely exceeding 30 grams.
They live in tropical rainforests of South and Central America, like western Ecuador and northeastern Peru.
Their native habitats are deserts and deciduous forests, where they usually live in flocks of up to 40 birds. Recently, parrotlets have moved to more humid areas in response to deforestation.
Despite being ‘pocket parrots’, pacific parrotlets have larger-than-life personalities. While they’re playful and affectionate toward each other, they can be strong-willed and feisty.
Although pacific parrotlets frequently vocalize by chattering, chirping, and tweeting, they’re less noisy than other birds. They won’t make ear-splitting screeches like macaw species.
Painted Parakeets
Painted conures (Pyrrhura picta) are mostly green with a maroon-red belly and tail tip with patches of blue on the head and body. They also have a signature scaly breast that looks reptilian.
They’re small birds, averaging 8.5 inches long and weighing 54-70 grams.
Painted parakeets live in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Suriname, and French Guiana. They’re most commonly found in the coastal mountains of Venezuela.
Their calls made during flight are described as forceful and coarse-sounding. Despite their loud contact calls, they’re not overly noisy birds. They’re friendly and curious parrots with abundant energy.
Red-Fronted Macaws
Red-fronted macaws (Ara rubrogenys) are green parrots with red patches on their crowns, ears, and bends of the wing. They’re 21.5 to 23.5 inches long and weigh about 500 grams.
They’re native to the east-Andean slopes of south-central Bolivia.
They’re threatened by habitat destruction, illegal trapping for the pet trade, persecution by farmers, and firewood cutting. Even overgrazing by goats has depleted their food sources.
Green-Cheeked Conures
The green-cheeked conure (Pyrrhura molinae) boasts a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors.
Their feathers include various shades of green on their backs, wings, chest, neck, and cheeks. Green-cheeked conures also have red, white, and blue patches.
Green-cheeked conures (also called green-cheeked parakeets) are 10 inches long and weigh between 60 and 80 grams. They’re among the smallest birds in the conure species.
Green-cheeked conures live in the woodlands and forests of South America, including Bolivia and Brazil. They live in relatively small flocks of about 20-30 individual birds.
They have few predators due to their high-up nesting areas, but threats include the false vampire (Megadermatidae), the Harris’s Hawk, and the Ornate hawk-eagle.
Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets
Scaly-breasted lorikeets (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) have a mix of yellow and bright green feathers that combine to look like scales. The crown and sides of the head are bright green, tinged with blue.
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is 9.1 inches from head to tail, weighing 75 to 95 grams.
They hail from eastern Australia and make their home in woodland areas.
Scaly-breasted lorikeets are noisy birds, producing a high-pitched screech as a contact call. As with all birds, loris are most vocal at sunrise and sunset.
Australian Ringneck Parrots
Australian ringneck parrots (Barnardius zonarius) are almost entirely green with a thick yellow band around the neck. There are 4 subspecies with varying yellow, red, and turquoise plumage.
They’re medium-sized parrots, reaching 11 inches long and weighing between 102 and 218 grams. The bird’s size largely depends on the subspecies.
They’re mostly found in pairs or small flocks in Australia, preferring open woodlands and areas with many trees. They dislike tropical and highland areas.
Spectacled Parrotlets
Spectacled parrotlets (Forpus conspicillatus) have all-over green feathers that grow lighter toward the tail. They have blue circles around the eyes and rose beaks and feet.
They’re just 5 inches tall and weigh 30 grams, putting them among the smallest parrot species.
Spectacled parrotlets live in central and southern America, including Columbia, Panama, and Venezuela. They thrive at altitudes of more than 1600 meters in woodland and forest areas.
They’re not noisy birds but chatter and chirp consistently throughout the day.
Thick-Billed Parrots
Thick-billed parrots (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) are apple green, which enables them to avoid detection with the pine needles in their natural habitat, mostly in northern Mexico (Chihuahua).
They have a bright red stripe at the top of the wing and around the leg. A flash of yellow can be found underneath the wing, while the tail’s underside is jet black.
They’re called ‘snow parrots’ because they prefer elevated positions and can survive in cold weather. However, they usually head to lower altitudes when the temperature falls.
Thick-billed parrots are medium-sized birds, measuring 15 inches long and weighing over 300 grams.
Short-Tailed Parrots
Short-tailed parrots (Graydidascalus brachyurus) have uniform bright green feathers and short, stubby tails. Their feathers are a lighter green around the wings.
They’re 9 to 9.5 inches long and weigh between 188 and 233 grams.
Short-tailed parrots are noisy small birds. Their flight call is “kree-ki-ki,” which is repeated at a high pitch.
They form relatively large flocks along the banks of the Amazon River in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and French Guiana. They prefer humid forest areas, river islands, and borders.
Scarlet-Shouldered Parrotlets
Also known as the red-winged parrot, scarlet-shouldered parrotlets (Touit huetii) are green with brown and yellow tones on the head and forehead.
They have blue and red shoulders that are sometimes hidden but can be seen when the bird is in flight.
The scarlet-shouldered parrotlet is 6 inches long and weighs 60 grams.
Scarlet-shouldered parrotlets live in rainforests and partially deforested woodland areas. They’re quiet and shy birds that often appear in trees without warning.
Edward’s Fig Parrots
Edwards fig parrots (Psittaculirostris edwardsii) are small, green parrots with blue and yellow patches.
They have a greenish-blue flash under their eyes and a violet-blue horizontal stripe on the chest. Males have red breasts that appear when they’re 10 months old.
Also called the scarlet-cheeked fig parrot, they’re 7.1 inches long and weigh 105 grams.
They live in Indonesia and Northeastern New Guinea, preferring sub-tropical and lowland forests.
Edwards fig parrots make contact calls, like the double-noted “screet-screet,” which can be heard several miles away. When perching and feeding, they often make gentle chattering sounds.
Blue-Bellied Parrots
Blue-bellied parrots (Triclaria malachitacea) have long tails, bright green feathers, and a white beak.
Males are green all over with a blue-purple patch on their abdomens and lower breasts. Female blue-bellied parrots only have a green underside.
Blue-bellied parrots, or purple-bellied parrots as they’re also known, are the only species in their genus. They reach 11 inches long and weigh 90 grams.
They live in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil but have been spotted in the Misiones in Argentina.
Sri Lanka Hanging Parrots
Sri Lanka hanging parrots (Loriculus beryllinus) are small birds (5 inches long and 25-30 grams) with short, stubby tails and bright green feathers. The nape and back both have a soft orange tint.
Males and females have a red bill and rump, but males have a red crown.
Sri Lanka hanging parrots live exclusively in the wet zones of Sri Lankan forests, including the cloud forests, Sinharaja rainforest, Kitulgala forest reserve, and Udawatta Kale forest reserve.
They’re diurnal birds and live in flocks of up to 10 birds. During the day, they spend much of their day foraging for fruit, nectar, and seeds. They’re instantly recognized by a “kik-kik-kik” calling sound.
How Much Do Green Parrots Cost?
Some green parrots, including the blue-bellied military macaw and thick-billed parrot, are on the brink of extinction and are almost impossible to get hold of due to conservation efforts.
Many other green parrots make good pets. To help you budget the cost, we’ve put the most common green parrots from the lowest to the highest price.
| Parrot Species | Average Cost |
| Great Green Macaw | $3,000 – $4,000 |
| Amazon Parrot | $1,000 – $3,000 (depending on the breed) |
| Male Eclectus Parrot | $1,000 – $3,000 |
| Military Macaw | $2,500 |
| Red-Shouldered Macaw | $800 – $2,000 |
| Red-Fronted Macaw | $1,500 |
| Indian Ringneck Parakeet | $400 – $700 |
| Little Lorikeet | $400 – $700 |
| Quaker Parakeet | $250 – $550 |
| Australian Ringneck Parrot | $400 – $500 |
| Spectacled Parrotlet | $300 – $500 |
| Senegal Parrot | $200 – $500 |
| Green-Cheeked Conure | $150 – $350 |
| Pacific Parrotlet | $100 – $350 |
| Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet | $150 – $300 |
| Maroon-Bellied Conure | $125 – $250 |
| Lovebird | $40 – $130 |
| Painted Parakeet | $40 – $70 |
| Budgerigar | $10 – $35 |
How Many Years Do Green Parrots Live?
The average life expectancy of parrots varies depending on the species. Smaller parrots tend to have a shorter lifespan, whereas large parrots can live for 60 years.
The expected lifespan of the most common green parrot species is as follows:
| Parrot Species | Expected Lifespan (in years) |
| Red-Fronted Parrot | 80 |
| Military Macaw | 60 |
| Great Green Macaw | 50 – 60 |
| Amazon Parrot | 50 |
| Male Eclectus Parrot | 30 – 50 |
| Red-shouldered Macaw | 30 – 50 |
| Maroon-Bellied Conure | 35 |
| Green-Cheeked Conure | 30 |
| Thick Billed Parrot | 30 |
| Senegal Parrot | 30 |
| Indian Ringneck Parakeet | 20 – 30 |
| Spectacled Parrotlet | 20 – 30 |
| Short-Tailed Parrot | 10 – 30 |
| Scarlet-Shouldered Parrotlet | 25 |
| Quaker Parakeet | 20 – 30 |
| Little Lorikeet | 15 – 20 |
| Pacific Parrotlet | 15 – 20 |
| Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet | 15 – 20 |
| Australian Ringneck Parrot | 15 |
| Edward’s Fig Parrot | 15 |
| Lovebird | 10 – 15 |
| Painted Parakeet | 5 – 14 |
| Blue-Bellied Parrot | 12 |
| Budgerigar | 5 – 10 |
| Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot | Unknown |
While striking, not all green parrots are suitable as pets.
Don’t just base your decision on the way the bird looks. Use this guide to learn more about their personality and temperament, and choose one that’ll fit your family, lifestyle, and home.
