All throughout Peru, mostly in warmer climates, you can find red-masked parakeets, but in my town, they are very, very rare. Let me introduce you to Palta the Parrot. "Palta” means avocado in Spanish, and it seems fitting for her vibrant green feathers.
She is not a very large creature—I would say she is about medium-sized. Imagine the most vibrant green you can think of, and that is the color of her feathers. Normally, most red-masked parakeets have a distinct amount of red around their eyes to mimic a mask, but Palta does not have much red. I like to say she does not need to mask who she is in Cajacay because she is a resident at this point!
The first time I saw Palta was when I was sitting in the park in my pueblo, chatting on the phone with a friend. I was having a very hard day. Nothing seemed to be going right, and out of nowhere, this stunning parrot flew onto the railing next to me. She then flew on top of my head and just sat there with me for an hour. She allowed me to pet her and talk to her, and she truly lifted my spirits. On such a dark day, this small but beautiful creature made me realize how important it is to be thankful for the little things in life and to find beauty in everything.
