Amazon of the Week 5/21/10

[Jayd]

Another week gone, This week we have the Yellow-billed Amazon Parrots aka Yamaican Yellow-billed Parrots:

Amazona Collaria

The Yellow-lored Amazons (Amazona xantholora) - also known Yucatan Amazons, Yucatan Parrots, Yellow-lored Parrots or Yamaican Yellow-billed Parrots - are native to the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, British Honduras, Belize, Roatán Bay Islands and Honduras. They prefer deciduous forest areas and open rain forests, and heavily degraded former forest. They are common in their natural habitat yet rare in aviculture. The Yellow-billed Amazon is found up to 1200m on the island of Jamaica where it is more abundant in the John Crow Mountains, on Mount Diablo and in the Cockpit Country. In the breeding season it stays within rainforest.

These social parrots are usually seen in groups of 4 to 6 birds or larger flocks outside the breeding season. Breeding pairs usually nest in tree cavities. Females lay 3 to 5 eggs, which are incubated for about 26 days.

These parrots are generally quiet when perched in the trees, but noisy during flight. They gather around in the evenings in roosting trees in large flocks of several thousand birds. At daybreak, they leave the roosting trees to forage.

They may live 50 years or longer.

Description:

The average length is 9.2 inches or 23 cm including the tail.

The general plumage is green. Feathers are distinctly edged with black. The forehead and forecrowns are white or, in some birds, cream. The lores (the regions between the eyes and bill on the side of a bird's head) are yellow. Primary coverts are red. The crown is dull blue with blackish edging to feathers. ear coverts (feathers covering the ears) are blackish. Primaries and outer webs of secondaries are blue, upper and under tail-coverts yellowish green. Upside of the tail is green with greenish-yellow tips. The base to outer tail feathers is red. The bill is yellowish-brown and their feet are brown.

Yellow-lored AmazonImmatures: Young birds that have not gone through their first molt have a dull blue forehead. Red present in wings of young males, but mostly interspersed with green in young females. The iris is dark.

Sexing: Males and females look alike, except the white on the female's forehead and crown are usually not so extensive. The primary coverts are usually green, in some females several or all primary wing feathers are red. The Yellow-billed Amazon was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae.

The Yellow-billed Amazon is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are a protected species being listed on appendix II of CITES, which makes trade and export of trapped wild birds illegal. Its populations are fragmented and it has a small range. It is threatened by habitat loss, illegal trapping for the pet trade, and felling of trees with suitable nesting cavities. They are also threatened by potential hybridization with non-endemic pet Amazon parrots, which occasionally escape particularly during the hurricane season.

 

http://www.avianweb.com/yellowloredamazon.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-billed_Amazon

http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/profile/yellow_billed_amazon/

[Luvparrots]

Another great description of the Amazon of the Week!!!! Thanks Jay!

[judygram]

And yet another beautiful entry into the amazon of the week threads, I really do enjoy these posts of yours Jay and you continue to keep me amazed over these amazons.

[JillyBeanz]

Another beautiful picture, accompanied by a fabulous description. You continue to amaze me with the array of Amazons and the information available! Looking forward to the next one!!

[Talon]

How beautiful! I have learned so much coming to this room and seeing all the many amazons I never knew existed. Jay, you have outdone yourself week after week. I personally don't know how you find the time, especially since SPOCK seems to like to steal the computer!!! But thank you for giving us all you do here!

 

P.S. Talon would like to suggest we start a fund raiser for Spock so he can have his very own computer.....she wants to start a forum together....go figure...must run in the family.......whaddya think????

[JillyBeanz]

P.S. Talon would like to suggest we start a fund raiser for Spock so he can have his very own computer.....she wants to start a forum together....go figure...must run in the family.......whaddya think????

 

Ha Ha! Let's set up a bank account for donations - then Spock can start to "tweet" !!1 :)

[JJsHoney]

I would most definetly subscribe to twitter if Spock was there! my phone would be buzzing all day with tweets lol... Once again Jay you have shown me another beautiful Zon-----Bonnie

[kittykittykitty]

Thank you for this beautiful bird. Every week is a real adventure.

[Yossi]

Great posts! I love learning more about our friends. Thanks for posting this!