The Saint Lucia amazon (''Amazona versicolor''), also known as the St. Lucia amazon and St. Lucia parrot, is a

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

of bird in subfamily Arinae of 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 ...

, the African and New World parrots. It 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 ...

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

and is the country's national bird.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Saint Lucia amazon is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

. It is closely related to the red-necked amazon (''A. arausiaca'') of

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

Description

The Saint Lucia amazon is long and weighs . The sexes are alike. Their forehead is royal blue that is lighter on the crown and the rest of the face. Their hindcrown, nape, sides of the neck, and mantle are scaly green. The rest of their upperparts are plain green. Their upper breast is red, their lower breast and belly mottled green and maroon, and their vent area greenish yellow. Their wings are green with a red speculum and dark blue primaries. Their tail feathers are green with wide yellowish tips.

Distribution and habitat

The Saint Lucia amazon is found in the mountains of Saint Lucia's interior. It inhabits tropical moist montane forest at elevations between .

Behavior

Movement

The Saint Lucia amazon has no known pattern of movement.

Feeding

The Saint Lucia amazon feeds on seeds and fruit of a variety of palms and other plants.

Breeding

The Saint Lucia amazon's breeding season includes at least February and March and may continue beyond that. It nests in a tree cavity. The clutch size is two eggs. In captivity the incubation period is 28 days and fledging occurs about 81 days after hatch.

In captivity

Between 1975 and 2021, the

Jersey Zoo Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. In 2023, th ...

maintained a breeding colony of Saint Lucia amazons. In 1982, they achieved the first captive breeding success of this species. The offspring of this breeding were returned to the wild. On 2 May 2021, the Jersey Zoo announced that their last amazon died, ending their tenure with this species. It is maintained in a few other collections in Europe.

Status

The

IUCN 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 status ...

originally assessed the Saint Lucia amazon in 1988 as Threatened and since 1994 as Vulnerable. Its estimated population of 1150 to 1500 mature individuals is believed to be increasing. The population was thought to total about 1000 in 1950 but declined to about 150 by the late 1970s as a result of habitat loss, hunting for food, the pet trade, and hurricanes. The species' plight at that time prompted conservation measures with "strong national and popular support"; the population had increased to about 300 by 1990 and has continued to increase.Edward Whitley, ''Gerald Durrell's Army'', John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1992.

References

External links

*https://www.beautyofbirds.com/saintluciaamazonparrots.html {{Taxonbar, from=Q373310 Saint Lucia amazon Saint Lucia amazon Endemic birds of the Caribbean Saint Lucia amazon Saint Lucia amazon Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic birds of Saint Lucia