Yellow-shouldered Amazon
Amazona barbadensis
Large green parrot of desert Caribbean areas, including mainland. All green with yellow face, yellow shoulder patch, and orange wing patch. Sexes similar. A threatened species, uncommon in areas where it’s trapped for the pet trade but locally common in safer areas. Usually in pairs or groups, often large flocks at roosts. Always in desert scrub areas searching for cactus and other fruits, seeds, and nectar-rich flowers. Voice a harsh scream similar to other Amazona parrots but somewhat higher pitched. Similar to Orange-winged Parrot, which lacks yellow shoulders and has a blue area above eyes.
Identification
The yellow-shouldered amazon is mainly green and about 33 cm long (~13 inches). It has a whitish forehead and lores, and a yellow crown, ocular region and - often - ear coverts and chin. The bare eye-ring is white. The thighs and the bend of the wing ("shoulder") are yellow, but both can be difficult to see. The throat, cheeks and belly often have a bluish tinge. As most members of the genus Amazona, it has broad dark blue tips to the remiges and a red wing-speculum.<p>The yellow-shouldered amazon can be distinguished from the very similar orange-winged amazon by the latter's lack of yellow on its shoulders and blue colouration around the eyes. Another way of distinguishing it from other Amazona species is its somewhat higher pitched vocalizations.
Taxonomy
The yellow-shouldered amazon was described and illustrated in 1738 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin in his A Natural History of Birds based on live specimen. Albin believed that the parrot had come from Barbados and used the English name, the "Barbadoes parrot". Using Albin's account, both Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 and John Latham in 1781 included a description of the parrot in their books on birds. When in 1788 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, he included the yellow-shouldered amazon, coined the binomial name Psittacus barbadensis and cited Latham's work. Gmelin specified the type locality as Barbados but this parrot species is not found on the island and Venezuela is the type locality. The yellow-shouldered amazon is now placed with around thirty other species in the genus Amazona that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1830. The genus name is a Latinized version of the name Amazone given to these parrot in the 18th century by the Comte de Buffon, who believed they were native to Amazonian jungles. The specific barbadensis denotes Barbados. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Amazona barbadensis
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
A. barbadensis is endemic to northern Venezuela, Bonaire (which may have less than 400 birds), and other islands in the area. On the Venezuelan island of Margarita, it is extirpated from the east side, which is heavily commercialized and a popular tourist destination, existing only on the Macanao Peninsula. Also native to Aruba, it went locally extinct by 1947. In January of 2024, a population of over two dozen of these birds was reintroduced to the island and is doing well. An introduced population exists on Curaçao. Unlike other Amazona members, it is typically found in arid habitats, such as desert scrub and dry forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
It feeds on fruits, seeds, and flowers, frequently consuming parts of cactus plants. The parrot is able to survive with minimal water, getting a large amount of moisture from their diet. This is especially clear on La Blanquilla, a small island with no natural bodies of water. The cacti that they so often eat are filled with liquid, in both the stems and fruits, and this keeps them alive in their arid environment.<p>The yellow-shouldered amazon typically nests in holes in trees, cliffs, or cacti, and lays 2-5 eggs. Total clutch size and hatching success of this species on Margarita Island are among the highest documented for the genus Amazona, suggesting a high reproductive potential for the species It is highly gregarious, and can sometimes roost in communally in tall trees, forming groups of as many as 700. The population on Bonaire appears to breed slower than is typical for the species, bringing it in line with other members of the genus.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-headed Fody
Foudia eminentissima
A sparrow-like weaver. Red-hooded breeding males are distinctive, but females and non-breeding males are drab. A Comoros endemic that is found in and adjacent to humid forest on the western three islands, and in drier, scrubby lowland habitats on Mayotte. Plumage varies across the different islands. The most distinctive birds, on Grand Comoro, have much less red on the breast than other populations. Can be very similar to Red Fody. Breeding male Red-headed Fody lacks red on the back and belly, though molting male Red Fody can match this pattern. Females and non-breeding males very similar to Red Fody, but Red-headed Fody is larger, darker, and more greenish, with a longer, slightly curved bill. Also similar to female House Sparrow, but distinguished by the more olive-green coloration and the longer bill. Calls are high, silvery notes, given in long series as a song.
Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant
Pseudotriccus ruficeps
Tiny, plump flycatcher found in the understory of subtropical and temperate cloud forest in the Andes. Not likely to be confused. Bright rufous head, wings, and tail contrast with olive back and breast. Belly slightly paler yellow. Sexes similar. Flits around the understory in singles or pairs, usually within forest. Best detected by its bill snaps or descending rattle call.
Black-throated Magpie-Jay
Cyanocorax colliei
Spectacular, large, and very long-tailed jay of tropical lowland forest, plantations, and semiopen areas with hedges and tall trees; ranges from humid to fairly dry areas. Range not known to overlap with smaller White-throated Magpie-Jay. Usually in small groups and can be surprisingly inconspicuous if feeding quietly. At other times, unavoidably noisy and impossible to overlook. No similar species in range: note crest, black face and throat, and very long, white-edged tail that flows out behind in flight.
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