Amazona autumnalis -Cana Blanca Wildlife Sanctuary -Costa Rica-8a-4c

The red-lored amazon or red-lored parrot (''Amazona autumnalis'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

amazon parrot Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots t ...

, native to tropical regions of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, from eastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

south to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

where it occurs in humid evergreen to semi-deciduous

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s up to 1,100 m altitude. It is absent from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

side of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

north of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Not originally known from

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, a pair - perhaps escaped from captivity - nested successfully in 1995 and 1996 in the outskirts of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

and the species might expand its range permanently into that country in the future.Herrera ''et al.'' (2006) This species has also established feral populations in several

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

cities.

Taxonomy

The red-lored amazon was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

''. He placed it with all the other parrots in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Psittacus ''Psittacus'' is a genus of African grey parrots in the subfamily Psittacinae. It contains two species: the grey parrot (''Psittacus erithacus'') and the Timneh parrot (''Psittacus timneh''). For many years, the grey parrot and Timneh parrot we ...

'' and coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Psittacus autumnalis''. Linnaeus based his description on the "lesser green parrot" that had been described and illustrated in 1751 by the English naturalist George Edwards in the fourth volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. Edwards mistakenly believed his specimen had come from the West Indies. The type locality was later designated as southern Mexico. The red-lored amazon is now one of around thirty species placed in the genus ''

Amazona Amazon parrots are parrots in the genus ''Amazona''. They are medium-sized, short-tailed parrots native to the Americas, with their range extending from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Amazona'' is one of the 92 genera of parrots t ...

'' that was introduced by the French naturalist

René Lesson René Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgery, surgeon, natural history, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort, and entered the Naval ...

in 1830. The genus name is a Latinized version of the name ''Amazone'' used in the 18th century by the

Comte de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, and cosmologist. He held the position of ''intendant'' (director) at the ''Jardin du Roi'', now called the Jardin des plant ...

. The specific epithet ''autumnalis'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "autumnal". Three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised: * ''A. a. autumnalis'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – east Mexico to north Nicaragua * ''A. a. salvini'' ( Salvadori, 1891) – north Nicaragua to southwest Colombia and northwest Venezuela * ''A. a. lilacina'' ( Lesson, R, 1844) – west Ecuador - the lilacine amazon The lilacine amazon is considered by some authorities (such as

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

) to be a distinct species, ''Amazona lilacina''. The diademed amazon (''Amazona diadema'') is sometimes considered conspecific with this species.

Description

The red-lored amazon is in length, with a weight of 310–480 g. The plumage is primarily green, with a red forehead and, in some subspecies, yellow cheeks (sometimes with red spots). The crown is blue. Adult males and females do not differ in plumage. Juveniles have less yellow on the cheeks, less red on the forehead, and dark irises.

Behavior

Food and feeding

Their food includes fruits,E.g. of ''

Cymbopetalum mayanum ''Cymbopetalum mayanum'' is a species of plant in family Annonaceae. The specific epithet ''mayanum'' refers to the Mayan region in which it is indigenous, specifically the Atlantic lowlands of Guatemala and Honduras. It grows as a tree, an ...

'' (

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

), Gumbo-limbo (''Bursera simaruba''),

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

(''Mangifera indica''),

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

s (''Ficus'' spp.) and palo de hule (''

Castilla elastica ''Castilla elastica'', the Panama rubber tree, is a tree native to the tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times. The latex g ...

''): Herrera ''et al.'' (2006), Forster (2007). nuts and seeds. Like all parrots, red-lored amazons need a varied diet consisting of high quality pellets, a quality seed mix, and daily servings of fresh, bird-safe fruits and vegetables.

Breeding

The red-lored 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.

Status

In some areas, notably parts of Mexico and Venezuela, the red-lored amazon has become rare through trapping for the cagebird trade. On the other hand, it seems to be able to adapt to human-altered habitat to a considerable degree.

Aviculture

Red-lored amazons are fairly common pet parrots in the Americas. They can be devoted pets and some make fairly good talkers. Like most amazon parrots they often have a tendency to vocalize loudly, and sometimes to bite. Their behavior ranges from being quiet and curious to being aggressive, this can all be changed by basic training when the bird is of a young age. Red-lored amazons can grow up to 13 inches in length. While they largely feast on seeds, fruits and nuts,

avocados The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its ...

and

eggplants Eggplant ( US, CA, AU, PH), aubergine ( UK, IE, NZ), brinjal ( IN, SG, MY, ZA, SLE), or baigan ( IN, GY) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit, typica ...

are poisonous to them and can kill them. Their average life span is up to 80 years.

Gallery

Amazona autumnalis singing.jpg, Vocalizing Amazona autumnalis -upper body-8a.jpg, Head plumage of adults is characteristic, but the cheek color varies among subspecies, with this, ''A. a. autumnalis'', being the only with a bright yellow patch Equador-amazone.jpg, ''A. a. lilacina'' is local within its already small range, leading to concerns about its status Red-lored parrots (Amazona autumnalis salvini) in flight.jpg, ''A. a. salvini'' in flight, Panama Red-lored parrot (Amazona autumnalis salvini) feeding.jpg, ''A. a. salvini'' feeding in the wild, Panama Amazona autumnalis -Costa Rica -pet-8a.jpg, A pet juvenile in Costa Rica

References

External links

Species profile
- World Parrot Trust {{Taxonbar">from=Q922333 red-lored amazon Birds of Central America Birds of Colombia Birds of Mexico">Birds of Colombia">Birds of Central America Birds of Colombia Birds of Mexico Birds of the Sierra Madre Oriental Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Feral parrots Birds described in 1758, red-lored amazon Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, red-lored amazon