Green Cheek Amazon Parrot (Amazona viridigenalis) - RSCF has been monitoring wild Green-cheeked Amazon parrots on Palm Beach, FL since 1995. This unusual population has only a single breeding site here - a 150-year-old stand of ornamental Casuarina (Australian pine). The birds provide a convenient study system for researching the ecology of non-native parrot species, as they also provide insights about how small parrot populations persist in a continually perturbed, urban environment.

Amazona viridigenalis is native to east-central Mexico, where it has steadily declined for the past 30 years due to capture for the pet trade and habitat loss. Listed as CITES Appendix I (international), it is considered by the IUCN and Birdlife International to be globally endangered, with wild population strongholds outside of its native range in southern California and south Florida. The Palm Beach A. viridigenalis population pre-dates the advent of commercial aviculture, and was well established long before the importation of Mexican Amazon parrots for the pet trade, which hit its zenith in the early-to-mid 1980's. While established feral populations of Green-cheeks in California can be directly traced to releases from import stations and households, the Palm Beach population likely has its roots in a single, pulse-release of wild-caught birds sometime during the 1940's. The Green-cheeked Amazon is perhaps the only endangered parrot to be best represented in the wild as a non-native, and has become a species of special concern even among ardent in situ conservationists. In California, A. viridigenalis has been added to a special state bird list, affording it specific legal protection. Presently, no equivalent statutes pertain to this species in Florida. As in California, this parrot seems not to displace or compete with native wildlife. On Palm Beach, the population of 100-150 individuals has been more-or-less static for decades, and breeding is completely dependent on naturally forming cavities within a row of old-growth Casuarina that were planted as ornamental vegetation during the 1860's along the original road to the Breakers Hotel and Casino. No other suitable nesting trees appear to be available to the species in south Florida.

During 2011, RSCF expanded assessment and monitoring of the Palm Beach parrot population. RSCF has now monitored the population for nearly 20 years, under an agreement with the Breakers Hotel and special permitting from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Activities include nest-site monitoring, intra-cavity inspections and video recording, banding/weighing of chicks, rehabilitation, public education and outreach (with The Breakers' education staff) and annual recruitment estimation.