Orange-winged Amazon
Amazona amazonica
Large green parrot with a blue mask and yellow crown and cheeks (the extent of which can vary between individuals). The tail has a broad yellow terminal band. The large orange-red patches on the trailing inner wings are obvious in flight and sometimes when perched. Found in a variety of wooded habitats from tall humid forests to savannas. Also ventures into urban areas.
Identification
The orange-winged amazon is a mainly green parrot about 33 cm (13 in) long and weighing about 340 g. It has blue and yellow feathers on its head which varies in extent between individuals. The upper mandible is partly horn colored (gray) and partly dark-gray. It has orange feathers in the wings and tail, which can be seen when in flight. The male and female are identical in external appearance.
Taxonomy
The orange-winged amazon was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus amazonicus. Linnaeus cited the 1760 description by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. Brisson used the French name "Le Perroquet Amazone" and the Latin name later used by Linnaeus, Psittacus amazonicus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The orange-winged amazon is now one of around 30 species placed in the genus Amazona that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1830. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Amazona amazonica
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The orange-winged amazons are noisy birds and makes loud, high-pitched screams. It eats fruit, seeds, nuts, blossoms, leaf buds, and berries, including the fruit of palm trees and sometimes cocoa, mangoes, and oranges. It roosts communally in palm and other trees, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk. It is becoming common as a feral bird in the Miami, Florida area, and there are colonies in London, England.<p>The orange-winged amazon nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 26 days and the chicks leave the nest about 60 days after hatching.<p>The orange-winged amazon has been introduced to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where it has been observed successfully hybridizing with a feral scaly-headed parrot (Pionus maximiliani) and also attempting to breed with feral monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) and rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), even involving itself in the former species' unusual nest-building behaviour.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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