The white-fronted amazon (''Amazona albifrons'') also known as the white-fronted parrot, or spectacled amazon parrot, is a

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 ...

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), ...

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 ...

. They can imitate a range from 30 to 40 different sounds. Like other large parrots, the white-fronted parrot has a long potential life span, usually around 40 years.

Description

The white-fronted amazon, at about long, is the smallest of the

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 ...

s. This species is named for the bright white patch of feathers on its forehead, although the amount of white varies from individual to individual. They have mostly green plumage with some blue colouring on their outspread wings. They have bright red colouring around their eyes (in some individuals almost like spectacles) and blue colouring behind the patch of white on their foreheads. Together with the

red-spectacled amazon The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland ...

and the yellow-lored amazon, it is the only amazon species in which adult males and females easily can be distinguished by external appearance (

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

): Males have bright red feathers on their "shoulders" (

alula The alula , or bastard wing, (plural ''alulae'') is a small projection on the anterior edge of the wing of modern birds and a few non-avian dinosaurs. The word is Latin and means "winglet"; it is the diminutive of ''ala'', meaning "wing". The a ...

), while females have green "shoulders". Juveniles have pale grey irises and less red on their face and the white area is replaced with a smaller yellowish area.

Taxonomy

The species is divided into 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 ...

with slight differences in colour and size: * White-fronted amazon (''A. a. albifrons'') — (Sparrman, 1788) —

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In th ...

, found from western Mexico to southwestern

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

* Lesser white-fronted amazon (''A. a. nana'') — Miller, W, 1905 — found from southeastern Mexico to northwestern

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 ...

* Sonora white-fronted amazon (''A. a. saltuensis'') — Nelson, 1899 — found in northwestern Mexico

Distribution and habitat

The white-fronted amazon is native to

and

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 ...

; and is most often seen in small flocks of up to 20 birds. They are seen in a variety of different habitats from wet regions such as

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s, to drier areas such as

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

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 ...

hs. In the wild, they are not shy and people are often able to approach them. Flocks may congregate and people have seen groups that number into the hundreds. These groups may also contain flocks from other species such as the

red-lored amazon The red-lored amazon or red-lored parrot (''Amazona autumnalis'') is a species of amazon parrot, native to tropical regions of the Americas, from eastern Mexico south to Ecuador where it occurs in humid evergreen to semi-deciduous forests up to ...

. A population has been seen in southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, probably escapees, and a small feral population has been observed living in southern

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 ...

. Introduced breeding populations have also been reported in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Breeding

The white-fronted amazon nests in tree cavities. Their breeding season is usually in the spring, starting in February and ending in the summer (in June and July in most areas). After breeding, the female will lay an average of three to four white

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

. Eggs are incubated for about 26 days and chicks leave the nest at the age of about 60 days from hatching.

Aviculture

The white-fronted amazon is sometimes kept by humans as a

companion parrot A companion parrot is a parrot kept as a pet that interacts abundantly with its human counterpart. Generally, most species of parrot can make excellent companions, but must be carefully managed around children and other common pet species like do ...

or aviary bird. When tame, it is typically a sociable, affectionate, playful and intelligent bird that can learn to

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

and often forms a close bond with its owner. Like many parrots, it is a long-lived species - potentially living for over 50 years in captivity. However it is also a loud, noisy bird that is unsuitable for apartment dwelling and requires regular exercise, play opportunities and social interaction in order to thrive. The

World Parrot Trust The World Parrot Trust is an international charity dedicated to saving parrots. History When the Trust was founded in 1989 at Paradise Park in Cornwall, UK, it was decided that the main objective was to promote the survival of all parrot specie ...

recommends that the white-fronted amazon be kept in an enclosure with a minimum length of 3 metres.

Gallery

File:White-fronted Amazon JCB.jpg, Tikal, Guatemala File:Stavenn Amazona albifrons 00.jpg, Juvenile File:Amazona albifrons MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.148.14.jpg, ''Amazona albifrons'' egg - MHNT

References

External links

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q583429 white-fronted amazon Birds of Mexico Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds of Belize Birds of Guatemala Birds of El Salvador Birds of Honduras Birds of Nicaragua Birds of Costa Rica Feral parrots white-fronted amazon Talking birds Taxa named by Anders Sparrman