Vinaceous-breasted Amazon
Amazona vinacea
Rare parrot, usually associated with Araucaria forests but can be found in other forest types. The body is mostly green with a small red patch on the forehead (just between the eyes), wings, and at the base of the outer tail feathers. Has a prominent purple scaly breast, which looks very puffy when the feathers are erected. Pale yellow terminal band to the tail and blue flight feathers also good field-marks.
Identification
The vinaceous-breasted amazon is 30 to 36 cm (12 to 14 in) long. It is mostly green, with red lores and forehead, a turquoise nape, and a lilac breast. Its carpal edge, speculum, and base of the outer tail feathers are red. Its primaries have blue to black ends. Its bill has a rosy pink to red base and a horn-colored tip. Its iris is red-orange to chestnut surrounded by pale gray skin and its legs and feet are gray.
Taxonomy
The vinaceous-breasted amazon is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Amazona vinacea
- Authority
- (Kuhl, 1820)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
The vinaceous-breasted amazon has a disjunct distribution. It is found in scattered locations generally from Brazil's São Paulo state south into Rio Grande do Sul, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province. It formerly occurred as far north as Bahia and south to Argentina's Corrientes Province. It inhabits a wide variety of landscapes within the Atlantic Forest biome but seems to concentrate in mixed forest with large amounts of paraná pine (Araucaria angustifolia). It also occurs in small forest patches, young secondary forest, pastures and grasslands with scattered trees, plantations of introduced pine and Eucalyptus, and around towns.
- Migration
- Nomadic movement
Behavior
The vinaceous-breasted amazon does not seem to have a uniform pattern of migration. It is present in some areas only during the breeding season but is a year-round resident in others.<p>The vinaceous-breasted amazon forages mostly in tree-tops and often in flocks. Seeds of paraná pine are a primary food source during winter but the species has been observed feeding on seeds, fruits, buds, and flowers of more than 30 plant species both native and introduced.<p>The vinaceous-breasted amazon breeds mainly between August and December but the season may sometimes extend into March. It nests in tree cavities, some of them created by rot and others previously excavated by woodpeckers. The clutch size is two to four eggs. The female appears to do almost all of the incubation, which lasts about a month. Both parents provision nestlings; in captivity the time to fledging is about seven to 10 weeks after hatch.<p>The vinaceous-breasted amazon is usually silent at the nest and when foraging but highly vocal in flight and when perched away from the nest. Its typical call is described by one author as "'creo creo" or "crau crau", and by another as "wout-wout-" or "wi-rout wi-rout".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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