The bird was similar to the Hispaniolan parakeet (Psittacara chloropterus), of which it was once considered a subspecies (some sources, such as the IUCN, still follow this taxonomy.

[2] The Puerto Rican parakeet was a very gregarious bird, noted for its loud, continuous calling.

As the bird often fed in farmers' fields on crops such as maize, this contributed to its widespread hunting.

[2] It was noted by James Bond that the bird was seemingly unafraid of gunshots, making it particularly vulnerable to hunting.

Bond attributed the bird's extinction to the large number of pigeon hunters who travelled to Mona Island.