Blue-cheeked Amazon
Amazona dufresniana
Generally uncommon parrot of lowland rainforest; also found in premontane forest at higher elevations in the tepui region and locally in savanna forest. Ecology and behavior similar to others in the genus. Note voice and burnt-orange forehead; diagnostic blue cheeks can be difficult to see. Feeds on fruit and flowers in the canopy; often seen commuting to or from roosts, or between feeding areas. Vocalizations are varied; most common call is a repeated yelp, similar to Orange-winged Parrot but somewhat lower-pitched and with a more liquid quality.
Identification
The blue-cheeked amazon is 34 to 37 cm (13 to 15 in) long and weighs 481 to 615 g (17 to 22 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults are mostly green. They are ochre on their lores and immediate forehead; the rest of the forehead and most of their crown are yellow with green tips on the feathers. Their lower half of their face, the sides of their neck, and the sides of their throat are lavender blue. Their nape and the rest of their upperparts and their underparts are green. The feathers of the nape and side of the neck have black edges that give a scalloped appearance. Their tail feathers are green with yellow tips that are wider on the outer feathers. The carpal edge of their wing is yellowish green and their primaries are black with blue outer webs. Their inner secondaries are green with pale blue tips and the outer ones bright yellow or orange, also with pale blue tips. Their iris is blackish, their bill dusky with a red base on the maxilla, and their legs and feed gray. Immature birds are similar to adults, but with less blue on the head and duller yellow on the crown.
Taxonomy
The blue-cheeked amazon is monotypic. Previously what is now the red-browed amazon (A. rhodocorythra) was treated as a subspecies of the blue-cheeked, and at other times both of them were treated as subspecies of the red-tailed amazon (A. brasiliensis).<p>The specific epithet of this species commemorates the French zoologist Louis Dufresne.[citation needed]
- Scientific name
- Amazona dufresniana
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1812)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittacidae
- Genus
- Amazona
Range and habitat
The blue-cheeked amazon is found from extreme eastern Venezuela east through Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana and south slightly into northern Brazil. The species' habitat requirements are not well understood. In the Venezuela/Guyana tepui zone it occurs in humid lowland forest and the foothills. In Suriname it occurs during part of the year in forests on the coastal sand ridges. In elevation it ranges from sea level to (in Venezuela) 1,700 m (5,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The blue-cheeked amazon is thought to be generally sedentary but some make seasonal movements between the Suriname interior and coast. It generally travels in single-species flocks of up to about 30 birds.<p>The blue-cheeked amazon feeds mostly in the forest canopy. Its diet is almost unknown; it is assumed to include seeds, fruits, and blossoms like that of other Amazona parrots.<p>Almost all of the limited knowledge about the blue-cheeked amazon's breeding biology is from captive birds. In captivity their clutch size is three eggs and the incubation period is 23 to 26 days.<p>The blue-cheeked amazon is highly vocal except when feeding. On characteristic call is "a loud, raucous, and throaty queenk-queenk-queenk...with [a] distinctly nasal quality" which is given both from a perch and in flight. They also make "harsher notes and a gurgling, babbling song."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Biak Flycatcher
Myiagra atra
A fairly small bird of wooded areas on the Bay Islands. Low crest is flattened at the front and rounded at the back. Male is glossy black with a purplish-blue iridescence. Female is medium gray above, pale gray below with brownish flight feathers and a darker mask, contrasting with the pale throat. Male similar to male Shining Flycatcher, but Biak is found in forest rather than waterside thickets and is smaller and less glossy. Often found in pairs and female has gray rather than rufous upperparts. Voice, a simple up-and-down whistled song and raspy call.
White-browed Tailorbird
Orthotomus nigriceps
A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense undergrowth in lowland and foothill forest in eastern Mindanao. Has an olive-green back and wings, an olive-green tail often held cocked, a pale gray belly, a black crown, and a white brow. Throat and chest are black in the male and white in the female with streaking around the edge. Similar to Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, especially from behind, but White-browed has black on the head with a white brow. Voice includes monotonous piping notes given in series, or a rapid whistled trill which can be rising or falling.
Cloven-feathered Dove
Drepanoptila holosericea
Unique and spectacular large dove with a weird shape: fat with a short tail and lumpy head. Male bright green with a yellow belly and very long, even brighter yellow undertail coverts that nearly reach the tip of the tail. Note paler whitish bands on the wings and uppertail. Female mostly a slightly duller green than the male, with a faint echo of the same patterning. Typically found at mid to high levels in tall trees. Note far carrying voice: a prolonged, mournful series of low-pitched hoots, slightly higher-pitched and more drawn out than the song of New Caledonian Imperial-Pigeon.
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