List of Amazon parrots
Encyclopedia
The Amazon parrots are about 30 species of parrot
s that comprise the genus Amazona. They are native to the New World, ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Amazon parrots range in size from medium to large, and have relatively short, rather square tails. They are predominantly green, with accenting colors that are quite vivid in some species.
The taxonomy
of the Yellow-crowned Amazon
(Amazona ochrocephala complex) is disputed, with some authorities listing only a single species (A. ochrocephala), and others splitting it into as many as three species (A. ochrocephala, A. auropalliata and A. oratrix). The Yellow-faced Parrot
, Alipiopsitta xanthops, was traditionally placed within the Amazon parrot genus, but recent research has shown that it is more closely related to the Short-tailed Parrot
and species from the genus Pionus
; as a result, it has been transferred to the monotypic
genus Alipiopsitta.
Two extinct species have been postulated, based on limited evidence. They are the †Martinique Amazon
(Amazona martinica) and the †Guadeloupe Amazon
(Amazona violacea). Amazon parrots were described living on Guadeloupe
by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre
in 1667 and by Jean-Baptiste Labat
in 1742, and they were called Psittacus violaceus at that time. Labat also described Amazon parrots living on Martinique
. There are no specimens or remains of either island population, so their taxonomy may never be fully elucidated. Their status as separate species is unproven and they are regarded as hypothetical extinct species
.
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s that comprise the genus Amazona. They are native to the New World, ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Amazon parrots range in size from medium to large, and have relatively short, rather square tails. They are predominantly green, with accenting colors that are quite vivid in some species.
The taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of the Yellow-crowned Amazon
Yellow-crowned Amazon
The Yellow-crowned Amazon or Yellow-crowned Parrot , is a species of parrot, native to the tropical South America and Panama. The taxonomy is highly complex, and the Yellow-headed and Yellow-naped Amazon are sometimes considered subspecies of the Yellow-crowned Amazon...
(Amazona ochrocephala complex) is disputed, with some authorities listing only a single species (A. ochrocephala), and others splitting it into as many as three species (A. ochrocephala, A. auropalliata and A. oratrix). The Yellow-faced Parrot
Yellow-faced Parrot
The Yellow-faced Parrot , formerly also known as the Yellow-faced Amazon, is the only species of the genus Alipiopsitta. It is a Neotropical parrot , and was classified in the genus Amazona for many years. It is a predominantly green and yellow-plumaged bird with a yellow head...
, Alipiopsitta xanthops, was traditionally placed within the Amazon parrot genus, but recent research has shown that it is more closely related to the Short-tailed Parrot
Short-tailed Parrot
The Short-tailed Parrot is the only species of the genus Graydidascalus. It is found along both banks of the Amazon river and other major Amazonian rivers in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru...
and species from the genus Pionus
Pionus
Pionus is a genus of medium-sized parrots native to Mexico, and Central and South America. Characteristic of the genus are the chunky body, bare eye ring , and short square tail. They are superficially similar to Amazon parrots, but smaller and in flight their wing-strokes are far deeper...
; as a result, it has been transferred to the monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus Alipiopsitta.
Two extinct species have been postulated, based on limited evidence. They are the †Martinique Amazon
Martinique Amazon
The Martinique Amazon, Amazona martinicana, was a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It was endemic to Martinique. It became extinct due to habitat loss as Martinique was cleared for agriculture. It has not been recorded since 1722...
(Amazona martinica) and the †Guadeloupe Amazon
Guadeloupe Amazon
The Guadeloupe Parrot was a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It was endemic to Guadeloupe. It was hunted, and by 1779 was already rare. Today it is extinct....
(Amazona violacea). Amazon parrots were described living on Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre
Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre
Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre was a French blackfriar and botanist.In 1633 he joined the Dutch army where he worked in the headquarters in Maastricht...
in 1667 and by Jean-Baptiste Labat
Jean-Baptiste Labat
Jean-Baptiste Labat was a French clergyman, botanist, writer, explorer, ethnographer, soldier, engineer, and landowner.-Life:...
in 1742, and they were called Psittacus violaceus at that time. Labat also described Amazon parrots living on Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. There are no specimens or remains of either island population, so their taxonomy may never be fully elucidated. Their status as separate species is unproven and they are regarded as hypothetical extinct species
Hypothetical extinct species
Several extinct species have been postulated, but owing to a lack of evidence they can only be regarded as hypothetical extinct species. They have caused confusion, as they may have been a separate species, a subspecies, or an introduced species.-Parrots:...
.
| Species of Amazon parrots in taxonomic sequence Taxonomic sequence Taxonomic sequence is a sequence followed in listing of taxa which aids ease of use and roughly reflects the evolutionary relationships among the taxa... |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Common and binomial names | Image | Description | Range |
| Cuban Amazon or Rose-throated Amazon (Amazona leucocephala) |
 |
28–33 cm (11–13 in) long, mostly green, white on face, pink throat, brownish on belly. | Cuba Cuba The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city... , The Bahamas The Bahamas The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States... , and Cayman Islands Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica... |
| Yellow-billed Amazon Yellow-billed Amazon The Yellow-billed Amazon, also called the Jamaican Amazon, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is a predominantly green parrot with a short tail and pink throat and neck... (Amazona collaria) |
 |
28 cm (11 in) long, mostly green, white face markings and white forehead, blue forecrown, pink throat and upper breast, bluish primaries, yellow bill | Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic... |
| Hispaniolan Amazon Hispaniolan Amazon The Hispaniolan Amazon or Hispaniolan Parrot is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found on Hispaniola , and has been introduced to Puerto Rico, and the U.S... (Amazona ventralis) |
 |
28–31 cm (11–12 in) long, mostly green, white forehead, blue flight feathers, maroon belly and red in the tail feathers. | Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata) |
28–30 cm (11–12 in) long, mostly green, red forehead, white eyerings. | Archipelago of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an... |
|
| Yellow-lored Amazon Yellow-lored Amazon The Yucatan Amazon , also known as the Yellow-lored Amazon, Yucatan Parrot or Yellow-lored Parrot is a species of Amazon parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Belize, Honduras, and Mexico... (Amazona xantholora) |
 |
Mostly green, blue on crown and yellow on sides of face, horn coloured beak | Belize, Honduras, and Mexico |
| White-fronted Amazon (Amazona albifrons) |
_-tree-3c.jpg) |
25 cm (10 in) long, mostly green, white forehead with blue on the crown, red on sides of face. Sexual dimorphism: males have bright red feathers on their shoulders, while females have green shoulders | Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico; Nicaragua |
| Black-billed Amazon Black-billed Amazon The Black-billed Amazon, Amazona agilis, is a parrot endemic to Jamaica. Sometimes called the Black-billed Parrot, this Amazon parrot is mostly green with small patches of red on the wing and sometimes flecked on the head. Its bill makes it easy to separate from most other Amazons, including the... (Amazona agilis) |
 |
25 cm (10 in) long, mostly green with small patches of red on the wing and sometimes flecked with red on the head, black beak | Jamaica |
| Tucuman Parrot (Amazona tucumana) |
 |
31 cm (12 in) long, mostly green with feathers of the upper-body being green with black margins. Red plumage on forehead and fore-crown, and the red does not extend around the white eye-rings. Red primary wing feathers with no red at the bend of the wing. They have orange thighs and red at base of a green tail. | Argentina and Bolivia |
| Red-spectacled Amazon Red-spectacled Amazon The Red-spectacled Amazon is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.... (Amazona pretrei) |
32 cm (12.5 in) long, mostly green with a variable extent of red on forehead, lores, and around eyes. The eyerings are white and the bill is yellowish. Red on the bend of the wings with blue tips to secondary and primary wing feathers. | Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... , and Paraguay Paraguay Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the... |
|
| Red-crowned Amazon (Amazona viridigenalis) |
 |
33 cm (13 in) long, mostly green, bright red forehead and crown, dark blue streaks behind the eyes, and light green cheeks, less red on the crown of the female and the juvenile | Native to Mexico, introduced to Puerto Rico and United States |
| Lilac-crowned Amazon (Amazona finschi) |
 |
30.5–34.5 cm (12–14 in) long, mostly green, a maroon forehead, and violet-blue crown | NW to SW Mexico |
| Red-lored Amazon (Amazona autumnalis) |
32–35 cm (13 in) long, mostly green, red forehead and in some subspecies yellow cheeks (sometimes with red spots), blue crown | Central and South America | |
| Blue-cheeked Amazon Blue-cheeked Amazon The Blue-cheeked Amazon, Amazona dufresniana, also known as Blue-cheeked Parrot or Dufresne's Amazon, is a parrot found in northeast South America in eastern Venezuela, the Guianas and possibly far northern Brazil. It lives in forest and savanna woodlands up to 1700 m.It is about 34 cm... or Dufresne's Amazon (Amazona dufresniana) |
 |
34 cm (13.5 in) long, mostly green, with blue cheeks | French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and possibly in northern Brazil |
| Red-browed Amazon Red-browed Amazon The Red-browed Amazon is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is endemic to Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil... (Amazona rhodocorytha) |
 |
35 cm (14 in) long, mostly green, red forehead fading to browning-purple on the crown, orange lores and yellow below lores, bluish to violet cheeks and throat. | East Brazil |
| Red-tailed Amazon Red-tailed Amazon The Red-tailed Amazon , also known as the Red-tailed Parrot, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to coastal regions in the south-east Brazilian states of São Paulo and Paraná... (Amazona brasiliensis) |
 |
37 cm (14.4 in) long, mostly green, red forehead fading to purple on the crown. Blue throat, cheeks and over ears. Red in tail feathers | SE Brazil |
| Festive Amazon Festive Amazon The Festive Amazon , also known as the Festive Parrot, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. It is associated with forest and woodland growing near major rivers. Locally it is also found in coastal mangroves... (Amazona festiva) |
 |
Mostly green, red forehead, deep blue outer wing feathers, red rump | Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela |
| Yellow-shouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis) |
 |
33 cm (13 in) long, mostly green, white forehead and lores, yellow crown and ear-coverts, bare white eye rings. Yellow chin and shoulders. Some red and dark blue in the wing feathers. | Netherlands Antilles, Venezuela |
| Blue-fronted Amazon Blue-fronted Amazon The Blue-fronted Amazon , also called the Turquoise-fronted Amazon and Blue-fronted Parrot, is a South American species of Amazon parrot and one of the most common Amazon parrots kept in captivity as a pet or companion parrot... (Amazona aestiva) |
 |
38 cm (15 in) long, mostly green, blue forehead and yellow on the face | Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. |
| Yellow-crowned Amazon Yellow-crowned Amazon The Yellow-crowned Amazon or Yellow-crowned Parrot , is a species of parrot, native to the tropical South America and Panama. The taxonomy is highly complex, and the Yellow-headed and Yellow-naped Amazon are sometimes considered subspecies of the Yellow-crowned Amazon... (Amazona ochrocephala) |
 |
33–38 cm (13–15 in) long, mostly green, extent of the yellow on the head varies between subspecies. | South America and Panama |
| Yellow-naped Amazon (Amazona auropalliata) |
 |
Mostly green, yellow band across the lower nape and hindneck | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua. |
| Yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix) |
_-on_wooden_shelf.jpg) |
35–38 cm (14–15 in) long, mostly green, yellow head | Belize, Guatemala, Mexico. |
| Kawall's Amazon Kawall's Amazon The Kawall's Amazon , also known as the White-faced Amazon, White-cheeked Amazon or Kawall's Parrot, is a relatively large species of parrot in the Psittacidae family... (Amazona kawalli) |
Large and mostly green. White skin at base of bill | Brazil | |
| Orange-winged Amazon (Amazona amazonica) |
 |
33 cm (13 in) long, mostly green, blue and yellow feathers on head which varies in extent between individuals. The upper mandible is partly horn coloured and partly dark-grey. It has orange feathers in the wings and tail | South America |
| Scaly-naped Amazon Scaly-naped Amazon The Scaly-naped Parrot is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.... (Amazona mercenaria) |
Mostly green | Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela | |
| Mealy Amazon (Amazona farinosa) |
 |
38–41 cm (15–16 in) long, mostly green. The extent of yellow and green on the forehead and crown varies between the subspecies. | Mexico, and Central and South America |
| Vinaceous Amazon Vinaceous Amazon The Vinaceous-breasted Amazon, Amazona vinacea, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.... (Amazona vinacea) |
 |
30 cm (12 in) long, mostly green, red forehead, bluish nape, vinous-maroon breast | Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay |
| St. Lucia Amazon (Amazona versicolor) |
 |
43 cm (17 in) long, mostly green, blue face and forehead, red breast becoming maroon and mottled on lower breast and belly | Saint Lucia Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an... |
| Red-necked Amazon (Amazona arausiaca) |
40 cm (16 in) long, mostly green, blue forehead and face, white bare eyerings, red patch on throat (sometimes absent) | Dominica Dominica Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth... |
|
| St. Vincent Amazon (Amazona guildingii) |
 |
40 cm (16 in) long, mostly green, multi-colored amazon parrot with a yellowish white, blue and green head, greenish-bronze upperparts, grey feet, orange irises, and violet blue-green wings and tail feathers. There is a yellow-brown morph and a less common green morph. | Caribbean Caribbean The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north... island of Saint Vincent Saint Vincent (island) Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains... in the Lesser Antilles Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America... |
| Imperial Amazon (Amazona imperialis) |
45 cm (18 in) long, mostly green, purple neck, green-tipped red tail and purple below. | Dominica |
External links
- Search result for amazon parrot Birdlife International. Retrieved 12 August 2008.