The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of
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 ...
. It is found in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
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 ...
, and
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
.
Its natural
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s are
subtropical or tropical dry forest
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
,
subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Description
TSMF is generally found in large ...
, subtropical or tropical moist
montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...
, dry
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
, 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. It is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
.
The Red-spectacled Amazon migrates seasonally from the northern region of the state of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
to the south-eastern state of
Santa Catarina to feed on the mass-produced seeds of the
Brazilian Pine.
The species is distributed in the area of the frontier between southern
Corrientes province
Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...
in Argentina and the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
They are a quiet species with a relaxed disposition.
Description

The red-spectacled amazon is long. It is mostly green with some sparse red spots on head, variable extent of red on forehead, lores and around eyes, white eyerings, red on the bend of the wings with blue tips to secondaries and primaries and yellowish bill.
Females have less red on the bend of the wing.
Diet:
90 percent of the Red-spectacled amazon's diet that inhabits the wild contains Angustifolia seeds, those in captivity, their diets consist of vegetables along with Araucaria seeds.
Conservation and threats
The red-spectacled amazon is a declining species as it is highly threatened by the destruction of the
Aruacaria moist forests and the illegal exotic
pet trade.
An analysis of the extinct ''Amazona pretrei'' population records reveals that the species disappeared due to severe habitat loss, and in the past, the parrot's geographical range was at least 10% larger than the current range.
The red-spectacled amazon is prized for its colorful feathers, mimicry ability, exotic appeal, and relative rarity, so eggs and live parrots are frequently smuggled from the wild and bred in captivity.
It is estimated that nearly 500 chicks are stolen from their nests and sold in Brazilian cities every year.
References
red-spectacled amazon
Birds of the South Region
Vulnerable animals
Vulnerable biota of South America
red-spectacled amazon
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Species that are or were threatened by the pet trade
Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck
Birds of the Atlantic Forest
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