Orange-winged Parrot
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| Amazona amazonica (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The Orange-winged Parrot, Amazona amazonica, is a large Amazon parrot. It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago south to Peru and central Brazil.
Its habitat is forest and semi-open country. Although common, it is persecuted as an agricultural pest and by capture for the pet trade (over 66,000 captured in the years 1981-1985). It is also hunted as a food source.
The Orange-winged Parrot lays three to five white eggs in a tree cavity, which are incubated by the female for 3 weeks, with a further two months to fledging.
The Orange-winged Parrot is about 33 cm long and weighs 340 g. It is mainly green with a lateral blue stripe on the forehead, some yellow on the crown, cheeks and outer tail tips, and an orange speculum. Sexes are alike.
A. a. tobagensis, found only on Trinidad and Tobago, is a subspecies which is larger then the nominate form, and has more orange in the wing.
Orange-winged Parrots are noisy birds and make loud, high-pitched screams. They eat fruit and seeds, including the fruit of palm trees and sometimes cocoa. They roost communally in palm and other trees, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk.
It is becoming common as a feral bird in the Miami, Florida area of the USA.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Amazona amazonica. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by ffrench, ISBN 0-7136-6759-1
- "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-22-9
- "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6
