More Parrots in the Desert

Parrots are not usually associated with the desert. But this red masked parrot (aka parakeet) is a regular resident of desert areas, including the greater Phoenix area. The Peach-faced lovebird I featured in an earlier post eating with grackles, belongs to a population that my number in the thousands. The red masked parrot is not quite so common in Arizona, but it is more common in California communities. Taking pictures of birds is a challenge, due to the foliage surrounding the bird. The auto-focus on the camera may pick a random branch or leaf to put in focus and leave the bird out of focus. I suggest using manual focus when you are faced with an animal surrounded by trees or grass.