The diademed amazon (''Amazona diadema'') is a

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

in the family

Psittacidae The Family (biology), family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the 12 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Afrotropics, Afrotropical parrots) and 167 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or ...

formerly considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

with the red-lored amazon (''Amazona autumnalis''). ''Amazona diadema'' is restricted to the state of Amazonas in north-western

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Taxonomy

''Amazona diadema'' was formerly considered to be an isolated subspecies of the red-lored amazon (''Amazona autumnalis''),del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona a widespread species in Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America; the differences in

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

are slight and molecular analysis may show that its species status is not warranted.

Description

The diademed amazon grows to a length of about . It is a largely green bird with glimpses of red and black; many of the feathers are margined with contrasting colours giving a finely scalloped effect. The crown, nape and neck, breast and belly are green while the forehead, lores and

cere The beak, bill, or Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, wikt:grasp#Verb, grasping, and holding (in wikt:probe ...

are red. This red colour does not extend above the eye in a superciliary streak. The primary wing feathers are dusky black and the secondaries bluish-green; the base of the first five secondaries are red, giving a flash of red colour during flight. The tail is green with the side feathers being tipped yellowish-green, with red at the base. The beak is dark grey and the bare skin surrounding the eye is white. The iris is orange and the legs and feet are pale grey.

Distribution

The diademed amazon is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

in northern Brazil; its range is restricted to the lower part of the Rio Negro and the upper part of the Amazon River in the state of Amazonas. It is found in a variety of lowland forest habitats as well as areas containing scattered trees and

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s. In the Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve, near

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, it is common in the canopy of the humid forest and around the woodland margins. It also occurs in the

Jaú National Park The Jaú National Park () is a national park located in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It is one of the largest forest reserves in South America, and part of a World Heritage Site. Location The name "Jaú" comes from that of one of the largest ...

where it is uncommon.

Ecology

The species feeds mostly on

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s and nuts. Its behaviour is probably similar to the red-lored amazon, with birds roosting communally outside the breeding season, with daily flights to feeding areas, where the birds forage in the canopy and are well-

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

Status

This species has a limited range and is threatened by habitat loss caused by the forests where it lives being cleared for cattle farming and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

production. Some birds are caught by trapping for the domestic pet trade. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed the bird's conservation status as "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2841439 diademed amazon Birds of the Brazilian Amazon Endemic birds of Brazil diademed amazon