Yellow-crowned amazon

Appearance

Subspecies in the nominate group have a total length of 33–38 cm. As most other amazon parrots, it has a short squarish tail and primarily green plumage. It has dark blue tips to the secondaries and primaries and a red wing speculum, carpal edge and base of the outer tail feathers. The red and dark blue sections are often difficult to see when the bird is perched, while the red base of the outer tail feathers only infrequently can be seen under normal viewing conditions in the wild. The amount of yellow to the head varies, with the nominate, "nattereri" and "panamensis" having yellow restricted to the crown-region, while the subspecies "xantholaema" has most of the head yellow. All have a white eye-ring. They have a dark bill with a large horn or reddish spot on the upper mandible, except "panamensis", which has a horn-colored beak. Males and females do not differ in plumage. Except for the wing speculum, juveniles have little yellow and red to the plumage.

Distribution

The yellow-crowned amazon is found in the Amazon basin and Guianas, with additional populations in northwestern South America and Panama. It has been introduced to Grand Cayman.
It is a bird of tropical forests, woodlands, mangroves, and savannas and may also be found on cultivated land and suburban areas. In the southern part of its range, it is rarely found far from the Amazon rainforest. It is mainly a lowland bird, but has locally been recorded up to 800 m along on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Introduced–and apparently breeding–populations have been reported in Puerto Rico.

Status

The yellow-crowned amazon is considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International, and consequently, also by IUCN. Although populations are believed to be in decline, they do not yet approach the threshold specified by BirdLife International to rate the species as near threatened. As is the case with most parrots, it is listed on appendix II of CITES. It occurs in numerous protected areas and remains fairly common throughout a large part of its range.

Habitat

The yellow-crowned amazon is found in the Amazon basin and Guianas, with additional populations in northwestern South America and Panama. It has been introduced to Grand Cayman.
It is a bird of tropical forests, woodlands, mangroves, and savannas and may also be found on cultivated land and suburban areas. In the southern part of its range, it is rarely found far from the Amazon rainforest. It is mainly a lowland bird, but has locally been recorded up to 800 m along on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Introduced–and apparently breeding–populations have been reported in Puerto Rico.

Reproduction

The nest is in a hollow in a tree, palm or termitarium, where they lay two to three eggs. The incubation time is about 26 days and the chicks leave the nest about 60 days from hatching.

Food

They are normally found in pairs or small flocks up to 30, but larger groups may gather at clay licks. Their food includes fruits, nuts, seeds and berries. Foods with sugar and a large amount of salt can be dangerous for them.