Yellow-billed Amazon
Amazona collaria
A chunky green inhabitant of wet forests; typically found in pairs or small flocks in or near the canopy. Note this species’ yellow bill, rosy throat, and white eyering. The somewhat similar Black-billed Parrot is distinguished from Yellow-billed Parrot by its black bill, black eyering, and green throat. When the two species are together, the larger size of the Yellow-billed is evident. The characteristics noted above also separate this species from other parrots that might have escaped from captivity. Calls include a a “maa-weep” and a “mwah” that is not as harsh as the corresponding call of the Black-billed Parrot.
Identification
The yellow-billed amazon is 28 cm (11 in) long. Its plumage is mostly green with pink over the throat, upper breast and sides of neck, and blue in the larger wing feathers. Feathers over the ears are dark blue-green. The bare white eye-rings are surrounded by a narrow rim of white plumage, which continues as a narrow band of white over the forehead. Plumage over the lores is pale blue and the fore-crown is blue. A barred appearance over the back and sides of neck arises from the green feathers having black tips and edges. The tail feathers are green with red bases. Its beak is yellow, its irises are brown, and its legs are pink. The adult male and female are identical in external appearance. Juveniles have grey on the upper mandible and are otherwise similar to adults.
Taxonomy
The yellow-billed was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus collarius. Linnaeus based his description on an account by the Irish naturalist and collector Hans Sloane that was published in 1725 in his The Natural History of Jamaica. Sloan reported that the parrots "are eaten bak'd in pyes and taste as pigeons." The Linnaeus mistaken specified the type location as "America" instead of Jamaica. The yellow-billed amazon is now one of around thirty species placed 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 used in the 18th century by the Comte de Buffon. The specific epithet collaria, collarius is from Latin collare and means collar or neck-chain. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Amazona collaria
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
The yellow-billed amazon is found up to 1200m on the island of Jamaica where it is more abundant in the John Crow Mountains, on Mount Diablo and in the Cockpit Country. In the breeding season it stays within rainforest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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