Yucatan amazon

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Yucatan amazon
Amazona xantholora -Xcaret Eco Park -Mexico-8b.jpg
Female at Xcaret Eco Park, Mexico
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Amazona
Species:
A. xantholora
Binomial name
Amazona xantholora
(Gray, 1859)
Amazona xantholora map.svg

The Yucatan amazon (Amazona xantholora), also known as the yellow-lored amazon, Yucatan parrot or yellow-lored parrot is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. [3] It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. [4] [5]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The Yucatan amazon is monotypic. [3]

Description

The Yucatan amazon is 25.5 to 28 cm (10 to 11 in) long and weighs 200 to 232 g (7.1 to 8.2 oz). It is mostly green. Adult males are chrome yellow on their lores and the sides of their forehead; the rest of the forehead and most of their crown are white. The area around and behind their eye is red and their ear coverts are dusky. Their rear crown is greenish blue, their nape green, and the rest of their upperparts and their underparts are yellowish green. Most of the body feathers have black edges that give a scalloped appearance. Their middle pair of tail feathers are green with pale yellowish green tips, the next pair are yellowish green with a yellow base and a red streak near the base, and the rest have progressively more red replacing the yellowish green. Their wing's leading edge and primary coverts are red, the outermost primaries are green with blue towards the end, and the rest of their primaries and their secondaries are rich blue. Their iris is orange surrounded by bare white skin and their bill and legs are yellow. Adult females differ from males with a greenish blue forehead and crown, paler yellow lores, very little red on the face, traces of duskiness on the ear coverts, and green primary coverts. [6]

Distribution and habitat

The Yucatan amazon is found throughout the Yucatán Peninsula in the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche and slightly into northern Belize. A significant population also resides on Isla Cozumel. A specimen was collected in 1947 on the Honduran island of Roatán and there are a few eBird records from there and many from northern Guatemala. [4] [6] [5] The species is found in the interior and edges of deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, both primary and secondary, and also in pine savannah. It elevation it ranges from sea level up to about 100 m (300 ft). [6]

Behavior

Flocking

Flocks of thirty or more typically move together between roosting and foraging sites, and roosts may contain 1500 individuals. [6]

Feeding

The Yucatan amazon's diet has not been studied, but is assumed to include seeds, fruits, flowers, nuts, legumes, and crops like the diet of the white-fronted amazon (A. albifrons). [6]

Breeding

The Yucatan amazon's breeding season has not been fully described but appears to include March to May. It nests in hollows in trees or stumps. The clutch size is four or five eggs and the incubation period is 22 to 28 days. The time to fledging and details of parental care are not known. [6]

Vocalization

The Yucatan amazon is highly vocal except when feeding. A characteristic call by pairs is a barking "rek-rek-rek-rek or rek-rek rek-rek rrehr". Other calls include "a rolled reeeah-h and kyeh-kyeh keeei-i-iirr, and screechy ree-o-rak zeek ree-o-rah." [6]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the Yucatan amazon as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and an estimated population of between 20,000 and 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. Logging and the pet trade are identified as potential threats. [1] "Large-scale development of vacation properties also threatens to destroy and fragment remaining tropical deciduous forests along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula." [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-fronted amazon</span> Species of bird

The white-fronted amazon also known as the white-fronted parrot, or spectacled amazon parrot, is a Central American species of parrot. They can imitate a range from 30 to 40 different sounds. Like other large parrots, the white-fronted parrot has a long potential life span, usually around 40 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-billed amazon</span> Species of bird

The black-billed amazon 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 yellow-billed amazon, which also lives in Jamaica. It is the smallest Amazona parrot at 25 cm (10 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilac-crowned amazon</span> Species of bird

The lilac-crowned amazon, also known as lilac-crowned parrot, Finsch's parrot or Finsch's amazon, is a parrot endemic to the Pacific slopes of Mexico. Also known as Finsch's amazon, it is characterised by green plumage, a maroon forehead, and a violet-blue crown and neck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-lored amazon</span> Species of bird

The red-lored amazon or red-lored parrot is a species of amazon parrot, native to tropical regions of the Americas, from eastern Mexico south to Ecuador where it occurs in humid evergreen to semi-deciduous forests up to 1,100 m altitude. It is absent from the Pacific side of Central America north of Costa Rica. Not originally known from El Salvador, a pair - perhaps escaped from captivity - nested successfully in 1995 and 1996 in the outskirts of San Salvador and the species might expand its range permanently into that country in the future. This species has also established feral populations in several California cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-faced parrot</span> Species of bird

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. It is a semi-nomadic species found in the cerrado region of Brazil and adjacent Bolivia. As the yellow-faced parrot has disappeared from parts of its former range due to habitat destruction and generally occurs in low densities, it was considered vulnerable by the IUCN, but it remains locally fairly common, occurs in several protected areas and can survive in fragmented habitats, leading to its downlisting to near-threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-tailed parrot</span> Species of bird

The short-tailed parrot is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent amazon</span> Species of bird

The Saint Vincent amazon, also known as Saint Vincent parrot, is a large, approximately 40 cm (16 in) long, multi-colored amazon parrot with a yellowish white, blue and green head, greenish-bronze upperparts plumage, and violet blue-green wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-cheeked amazon</span> Species of bird

The blue-cheeked amazon, also known as blue-cheeked parrot or Dufresne's amazon, is a Near Threatened species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Brazil, the Guianas, and Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulturine parrot</span> Species of bird

The vulturine parrot is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucumán amazon</span> Species of bird

The Tucumán amazon, also known as the Tucumán parrot, alder amazon, or alder parrot, is a vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispaniolan amazon</span> Species of parrot endemic to Hispaniola

The Hispaniolan parrot, also known as Hispaniolan amazon, is a species of psittaciform bird of the family Psittacidae endemic to Hispaniola, which includes the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Its white forehead, light beak, white eye-ring, blue ear patch, and maroon belly patch are the main features that differentiate it from other amazons. Its body measures about 28 centimeters in length. A typical adult weighs 250g (8.75 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Lucia amazon</span> Species of bird

The Saint Lucia amazon, also known as the St. Lucia amazon and St. Lucia parrot, is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to Saint Lucia in the Lesser Antilles and is the country's national bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaly-headed parrot</span> Species of bird

The scaly-headed parrot is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is also called scaly-headed pionus, Maximilian pionus, Maximilian parrot, Maximilian's pionus, or Maximilian's parrot. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood-eared parakeet</span> Species of bird

The blood-eared parakeet, also known as the red-eared parakeet and in aviculture as the red-eared conure, is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-tailed parrotlet</span> Species of bird

The golden-tailed parrotlet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to eastern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose-fronted parakeet</span> Species of bird

The rose-fronted parakeet, known as the rose-fronted conure in aviculture, is a species of bird in the subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diademed amazon</span> Species of bird

The diademed amazon is a parrot in the family Psittacidae formerly considered conspecific with the red-lored amazon. Amazona diadema is restricted to the state of Amazonas in north-western Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tres Marías amazon</span> Species of bird

The Tres Marías amazon is a subspecies of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to the Islas Marías off the Pacific coast of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-winged amazon</span> Central American species of parrot

The blue-winged amazon is a proposed Central American species of parrot living in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It was described in 2017 in the journal PeerJ; however, its existence as a distinct wild species native to the Yucatan Peninsula has been questioned. A critique published in the journal Zootaxa identified numerous weaknesses with the description and suggested that the most plausible hypothesis was that the two specimens on which the description was based were hybrids.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2021). "Yellow-lored Amazon Amazona xantholora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T22686226A140710748. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22686226A140710748.en . Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (January 2023). "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List. v 13.1. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxa
  5. 1 2 "Yellow-lored Parrot eBird Bar Chart". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wade, M. and C. K. Ghalambor (2020). Yellow-lored Parrot (Amazona xantholora), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.yelpar1.01 retrieved March 1, 2023