Yellow-naped Amazon
Amazona auropalliata
Large, green parrot of tropical lowlands, mainly in drier areas. Uncommon. Found in semiopen areas with forest patches, big trees, and forest edges. Most often seen flying overhead early and late in the day, often fairly high and usually in pairs or loose groups made up of pairs. Note the dark gray bill and overall plain head with a bright yellow nape (yellow reduced or lacking on immatures). Like other parrots in the same genus, in flight shows a red patch on the flight feathers.
Identification
The yellow-naped amazon is distinguished by its green forehead and crown and a yellow band across the lower nape (back part of neck) and hindneck. The eyes are orange, beak is dark gray and is paler towards the base of the upper mandible. The feet are also dark gray.<p>Yellow-naped amazons inhabit dry forest and mangrove habitat of the tropics, and nest in naturally occurring cavities Although yellow-naped amazons will not excavate cavities, they will chew the entrance. The parrots will nest in a wide variety of trees, although dead Coyols (palm trees) are one preferred species. During the breeding season, pairs are monogamous, and pairs defend small breeding territories around the nest by duetting with their partners. Breeding success is low (89%), and the majority of nests fail due to poaching <p>The vocal behavior of yellow-naped amazons has been more extensively studied than in any other wild parrot. Yellow-naped amazons, like all parrots, exhibit vocal learning behavior in the wild. This behavior manifests in the form of vocal dialects, in which the repertoire of calls that parrots vocalize change at discrete geographic boundaries, similar to how humans have different languages or dialects. These dialects also are meaningful to the parrots; they are less responsive to calls that are not their own dialect. Dialects are also stable over long periods of time.<p>Mated pairs of yellow-naped amazons also duet together on their territories in highly complex ways; they produce precisely coordinated and synchronized sequences of calls. These duets are organized by syntactic rules, in which the order and structure of notes changes in predetermined but flexible ways. Neighboring pairs of birds will counter-duet, in which pairs will rapidly exchange duets. This behavior appears similar to the counter-singing observed in male songbirds. These displays will at times become so heated that physical fights will occur at territory boundaries, although these are rare.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Amazona auropalliata
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1842)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
It is found along the Pacific Coast from southern Mexico south to northern Costa Rica. Recent census efforts have indicated declining populations throughout much of the range, with reduced populations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and vanishingly small populations in Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala (Dupin et al. 2020, Wright et al. 2018). The Mesoamerican Parrot Census Network, with support of the World Parrot Trust, has been engaging volunteers to assess the status of yellow-naped amazons across their range to assist with conservation.<p>In common with many parrot species, it feeds on nuts, berries, seeds, and fruit.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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