Common corncockle vs Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon

Agrostemma githago compared with Amazona farinosa

Key Differences

Common corncockle is Critically Endangered while Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common corncockle	Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Caryophyllaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Agrostemma	Amazona
Species	Agrostemma githago	Amazona farinosa

Conservation Status

Common corncockle

CR — Critically Endangered

Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common corncockle	Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common corncockle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including montane grasslands and shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Lesotho), Asia (7 countries), Europe (24 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common corncockle

<em>Agrostemma githago</em>, commonly known as common corncockle, is an annual flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Once a widespread weed of cereal crops across Europe, Asia, and beyond, this species is now Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to the dramatic decline caused by modern agricultural practices, particularly improved grain cleaning and herbicide use. Corncockle is a tall, slender plant covered in silky white hairs, bearing large, solitary pink to purple flowers with distinctive dark veining. Its seeds contain toxic saponin compounds called githagins, which historically contaminated grain supplies. The species now survives primarily in wildflower conservation areas, seed banks, and traditional farmland conservation schemes. It typically grows in open, disturbed arable soils with full sun exposure. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Mealy Parrot / Mealy Amazon

One of the largest amazon parrots, mealy amazons have subtle powder-green plumage with bluish-grey head and a distinctive dusty or powdery sheen to the feathers that gives them their name. Found in lowland tropical forest from southern Mexico through Central America and across most of South America to Bolivia and Brazil. They inhabit humid forest and forest edges, traveling in pairs or small flocks. Listed as Least Concern globally though locally impacted by habitat loss and the pet trade.