Amazon parrot
Amazon parrots | |
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Collage of four amazon parrots (in clockwise: White-fronted parrot ).
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittacidae |
Tribe: | Androglossini |
Genus: | Amazona Lesson , 1830
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Type species | |
Psittacus farinosus[1] Boddaert, 1783
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Diversity[2] | |
c. 30 species |
Amazon parrots are
Many amazons have the ability to mimic human speech and other sounds. Partly because of this, they are popular as
Taxonomy
The genus Amazona was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1830.[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the southern mealy amazon (Amazona farinosa) by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori in 1891.[4] The genus name is a Latinized version of the name Amazone given to them in the 18th century by the Comte de Buffon, who believed they were native to Amazonian jungles.[5]
Amazona contains about thirty species of parrots, such as the
A 2017 study published by ornithologists Tony Silva, Antonio Guzmán, Adam D. Urantówka and Paweł Mackiewicz proposed a new species from the Yucatán Peninsula area in Mexico called the blue-winged amazon (
The
Extinct hypothetical species
Populations of amazon parrots that lived on the Caribbean islands of
- Martinique amazon, Amazona martinica. A.H. Clark, 1905.[11]
- Guadeloupe amazon, Amazona violacea. Originally called Psittacus violaceus by J.F. Gmelin in 1789.[11]
Description
Most amazon parrots are predominantly green, with contrasting colors on parts of the body such as the crown, face and flight feathers; these colours vary by species.
Distribution and habitat
Amazon parrots are native to the
Amazon parrots mostly inhabit forests such as
Behavior
Breeding
The exact breeding age of wild birds is not precisely known. For captive-bred birds, the average breeding age is around four years, with some larger groups like yellow-crowned amazons requiring six years. Captive birds as old as 30 years have laid eggs.
Captive birds are likelier to be less fertile. A variety of hypotheses to explain the phenomenon have been proposed - Low (1995) suggests that this is because amazon parrots have shorter breeding seasons, while Hagen (1994) suggests that this is because male and female parrots may not be ready for breeding at the same times.[31]: 12
Feeding
Amazon parrots feed primarily on seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, buds, nectar, and flowers, supplemented by leafy matter.[32]: 43 Their beaks enable them to crack nut shells with ease, and they hold their food with a foot.[17]: 18 In captivity, the birds enjoy vegetables such as squash, boiled potato, peas, beans, and carrots. Mainland amazon parrots forage and then feed their young twice a day (usually one hour after sunrise and one and a half hours before sunset), while West Indian amazon parrots do so 4-5 times. Hypotheses proposed for why this is include the nutritional value of food in the region as well as temperature stress.[30]: 19 During the downtime before foraging expeditions in the afternoon, amazon parrots spend their time preening themselves and their mates.[33]: 22
Communication and sociality
Amazon parrots mostly communicate vocally.[34]: 150 Species such as orange-winged amazons have nine different recorded vocalizations used in different situations. However, patterns of gestural communication have been observed with the birds, thought to be used to avoid predators.[35] In general, amazon parrots are very social birds in their foraging, roosting, and nesting. Most amazon parrots travel in large groups and have clumped nesting, but the four species in the Lesser Antilles are less social. Theories for why this is include the lack of predation risk.[30]: 15 In captivity, amazon parrots are known for their ability to talk- learning to communicate by mimicking speech and other sounds of human origin. They also appear to have an affinity for human music and singing.[36]
Extensive studies of vocal behavior in wild yellow-naped amazons show the presence of vocal dialects,[37] in which the repertoire of calls that parrots vocalize change at discrete geographic boundaries, similar to how humans have different languages or dialects. Dialects are stable over long periods of time[38] and are meaningful to the parrots; they are less responsive to calls that are not their own dialect.[39]
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A. autumnalis salvini(red-lored parrot) feeding
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A. leucocephala(Cuban parrot) feeding using its foot
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Two captiveA. auropalliata(Yellow-naped parrots) feeding
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TwoA. autumnalis salvini(red-lored parrots) flying together
Conservation status
As of June 2020, 58% (18 out of 31) of species were listed by the
The Puerto Rican parrot in particular, as a critically endangered species, has seen considerable conservation efforts, including but not limited to changes in land management, legal protection, research, and increasing nesting success.[41]: 18–21 However, these efforts were significantly hindered by natural events such as Hurricane Hugo, which affected the Luquillo forest in which most Puerto Rican parrots were living.[42]: 70
Within the rest of the West Indies, the four species of amazon parrots in the Lesser Antilles have seen successful attempts at increasing their population. In the Greater Antilles, the population of amazon parrots has been stable. The Cuban amazon has seen greatly successful conservation efforts and as a result has experienced a large increase in its population.[43]: 94
Aviculture
Low (2005) describes adaptability and joyfulness as the special positive attributes of the genus from an avicultural perspective.
Amazon parrots should be given a dark and quiet sleeping area. It is recommended to give the bird either downtime and naps or to keep them in total darkness for 12 hours so they can rest. Parrots also need to be bathed or sprayed with water once every week to allow for bathing behaviors.[51]: 185
Trade
Amazon parrots are traded and exploited as pets.[52]: 69 Archeological evidence shows that the parrot trade has existed in South America since pre-Columbian times, with mummified parrots (including amazon species) being found in the Atacama Desert region of Chile.[53] The most traded species of amazons are blue-fronted amazons and yellow-crowned/yellow-headed amazons. A 1992 ban on wild bird trade by the US led to a sharp drop in the trade and a diversion of 66% of it to the European Union, and a further EU ban on the trade in 2005 led to another drop. Between 1980 and 2013, 372,988 amazon parrots were traded. Some illegal trade still occurs between Mexico and the United States.[23]: 58 [29]: 255
References
- ^ "Psittacidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ ITIS standard report page: Amazona Archived 2004-10-17 at the Wayback Machine record last updated 1998 (URL accessed May 22, 2006)
- ^ Lesson, René (1831). Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau Méthodique (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: F.G. Levrault. p. 189. Archived from the original on 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
- ^ Salvadori, Tommaso (1891). Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. 20. London: British Museum. p. 268. Archived from the original on 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
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- ^ ISBN 0-670-81787-2.
- ^ Hume, J. P.; van Grouw, H. (2014). "Colour aberrations in extinct and endangered birds". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 134: 168–193.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86622-952-4. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-56239-587-2. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ "WHITE-FRONTED AMAZON (Amazona albifrons)". World Parrot Trust. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "YELLOW-LORED AMAZON (Amazona xantholora)". World Parrot Trust. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ a b Pollock, Christal (28 September 2014). "Basic Information Sheet: Amazon Parrot". LafeberVet. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ISBN 978-1-84309-445-6. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ hdl:10261/142842. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
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- ^ Jordan, Rick (1995). "Common Breeding Problems in Amazon Parrots". Afa Watchbird. 22 (3): 30–31. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- (PDF) from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4160-0119-5. Archivedfrom the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8138-2749-0.[dead link]
- ^ Gowland, Daniel J. (2014). "Captive Amazon parrots and their diet: a study on reproductive success" (PDF). Queanbeyan: Priam Psittaculture Centre Research & Breedinge. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9531337-4-1. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ Companion Parrot Quarterly, Issue 71. PBIC, Incorporated. 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ^ Meehan, Cheryl Lynne (2002). Environmental enrichment and behavioral development of orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). University of California, Davis. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
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- ^ a b "Amazon Parrot Personality, Food & Care". Archived from the original on 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
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- ^ Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Team (1987). Recovery Plan for the Puerto Rican Parrot, Amazona Vittata. The Region. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ISBN 978-1-61091-388-1. Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ^ Wiley, James W.; Gnam, Rosemarie S.; Koenig, Susan E.; Dornelly, Alwin; Gálvez, Xiomara; Bradley, Patricia E.; White, Thomas; Zamore, Michael; Reillo, Paul R.; Anthony, Donald (2004). "Status and conservation of the family Psittacidae in the West Indies". Journal of Caribbean Ornithology. 17: 94–154. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
- ^ "AnAge entry for Amazona ochrocephala". The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Mealy Amazon Parrot". Beauty of Birds. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Brough, Clarice; Galloway, Cheryl. "Mealy Amazon Mealy Parrot, Blue-crowned Mealy Amazon". Animal World. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Kalhagen, Alyson. "Mealy Amazon Parrot: Bird Species Profile". The Spruce Pets. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Brough, Clarice. "Lilacine Amazon Ecuadorian Red-lored Amazon". Animal World. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "LILACINE AMAZON". American Bird Conservancy. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ Axelson, Rick; Hess, Laurie. "Amazon Parrots - Feeding". VCA Animal Hospitals. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
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- ^ Nilsson, Greta (1981). The Bird Business: A Study of the Commercial Cage Bird Trade. Animal Welfare Institute. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ Messer, A'ndrea Elyse. "Mummified parrots point to trade in the ancient Atacama desert". Penn State News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
Further reading
- Caparroz, R. and J.F. Pacheco, 2006: A homonymy in Psittacidae a new name for Salvatoria Miranda-Ribeiro. Ararajuba: Rev. Brasileira de Ornitologia. V. 14, n 2, pp. 91–93.
External links
- Media related to Amazona at Wikimedia Commons