Amazona
Parrots from the Amazona genus are commonly known as Amazon Parrots. They are medium sized parrots of mainly green plumage native in a wide range from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. The Amazona genus consists of 30 species and several sub-species.
The parrots in the Amazona genus are very common as pets and also among breeders. Some species are now threatened due to a large demand of pet birds. Capturing wild birds for pet trade is now illegal according to CITES, which will hopefully allow the population of those species to increase.
Amazon Parrots require a lot of attention if they are to be kept as single pet bird. They are very noisy by nature and can scream very loud and very long if they are lacking attention or get upset.
One should be aware that birds often relate to a single person and may seem repulsive to all others. They are highly intelligent and able to imitate different sounds, words or simple sentences. They can live for 50 years or longer in captivity so you get a friend for life with a pet Amazon parrot.
In an outdoor aviary be aware that they generally do not tolerate frost but require at least 5ºC in winter and therefore need an insulated and heated shed.
Naming
The Amazon Parrots was originally named Amazone in the 18th century by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc also known as Comte de Buffon, who believed these parrots was native to the Amazonian jungles - hence the name. In 1830 the genus Amazona was established by French ornithologist René Primevère Lesson as a proper Latinized version of the previous name.
Amazona aestiva
Turquoise-fronted Amazon
Amazona agilis
Black-billed Amazon
Amazona albifrons
White-fronted Amazon
Amazona amazonica
Orange-winged Amazon
Amazona arausiaca
Red-necked Amazon
Amazona auropalliata
Yellow-naped Amazon
Amazona autumnalis
Red-lored Amazon
Amazona barbadensis
Yellow-shouldered Amazon
Amazona brasiliensis
Red-tailed Amazon
Amazona collaria
Yellow-billed Amazon
Amazona diadema
Diademed Amazon
Amazona dufresniana
Blue-cheeked Amazon
Amazona farinosa
Southern Mealy Amazon
Amazona festiva
Festive Amazon
Amazona finschi
Lilac-crowned Amazon
Amazona guatemalae
Northern Mealy Amazon
Amazona guildingii
St. Vincent Amazon
Amazona imperialis
Imperial Amazon
Amazona kawalli
Kawall's Amazon
Amazona leucocephala
Cuban Amazon
Amazona mercenarius
Scaly-naped Amazon
Amazona ochrocephala
Yellow-crowned Amazon
Amazona oratrix
Yellow-headed Amazon
Amazona pretrei
Red-spectacled Amazon
Amazona rhodocorytha
Red-browed Amazon
Amazona tresmariae
Tres Marias Amazon
Amazona tucumana
Tucuman Amazon
Amazona ventralis
Hispaniolan Amazon
Amazona versicolor
St. Lucia Amazon
Amazona vinacea
Vinaceous-breasted Amazon
Amazona viridigenalis
Red-crowned Amazon
Amazona vittata
Puerto Rican Amazon
Amazona xantholora
Yucatan Amazon
Photo credits:
- Festive Amazon: Sergio Gregorio
Species and subspecies
- Amazona aestiva (Linnaeus, 1758) - Turquoise-fronted Amazon
- Amazona aestiva aestiva (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx (von Berlepsch, 1896)
- Amazona agilis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Black-billed Amazon
- Amazona albifrons (Sparrman, 1788) - White-fronted Amazon
- Amazona albifrons albifrons (Sparrman, 1788)
- Amazona albifrons nana (Miller, W, 1905)
- Amazona albifrons saltuensis (Nelson, 1899)
- Amazona amazonica (Linnaeus, 1766) - Orange-winged Amazon
- Amazona arausiaca (Statius Müller, PL, 1776) - Red-necked Amazon
- Amazona auropalliata (Lesson, R, 1842) - Yellow-naped Amazon
- Amazona auropalliata auropalliata (Lesson, R, 1842)
- Amazona auropalliata caribaea (Lousada, 1989)
- Amazona auropalliata parvipes (Monroe & Howell, TR, 1966)
- Amazona autumnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Red-lored Amazon
- Amazona autumnalis autumnalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Amazona autumnalis lilacina (Lesson, R, 1844)
- Amazona autumnalis salvini (Salvadori, 1891)
- Amazona barbadensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788) - Yellow-shouldered Amazon
- Amazona brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Red-tailed Amazon
- Amazona collaria (Linnaeus, 1758) - Yellow-billed Amazon
- Amazona diadema (von Spix, 1824) - Diademed Amazon
- Amazona dufresniana (Shaw, 1812) - Blue-cheeked Amazon
- Amazona farinosa (Boddaert, 1783) - Southern Mealy Amazon
- Amazona festiva (Linnaeus, 1758) - Festive Amazon
- Amazona festiva festiva (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Amazona festiva bodini (Finsch, 1873)
- Amazona finschi (Sclater, PL, 1864) - Lilac-crowned Amazon
- Amazona guatemalae (Sclater, PL, 1860) - Northern Mealy Amazon
- Amazona guatemalae guatemalae (Sclater, PL, 1860)
- Amazona guatemalae virenticeps (Salvadori, 1891)
- Amazona guildingii (Vigors, 1837) - St. Vincent Amazon
- Amazona imperialis (Richmond, 1899) - Imperial Amazon
- Amazona kawalli (Grantsau & Camargo, 1989) - Kawall's Amazon
- Amazona leucocephala (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cuban Amazon
- Amazona leucocephala leucocephala (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Amazona leucocephala bahamensis (Bryant, H, 1867)
- Amazona leucocephala caymanensis (Cory, 1886)
- Amazona leucocephala hesterna (Bangs, 1916)
- Amazona mercenarius (Tschudi, 1844) - Scaly-naped Amazon
- Amazona mercenarius mercenarius (Tschudi, 1844)
- Amazona mercenarius canipalliata (Cabanis, 1874)
- Amazona ochrocephala (Gmelin, JF, 1788) - Yellow-crowned Amazon
- Amazona ochrocephala ochrocephala (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Amazona ochrocephala nattereri (Finsch, 1865)
- Amazona ochrocephala panamensis (Cabanis, 1874)
- Amazona ochrocephala xantholaema (von Berlepsch, 1913)
- Amazona oratrix (Ridgway, 1887) - Yellow-headed Amazon
- Amazona oratrix oratrix (Ridgway, 1887)
- Amazona oratrix belizensis (Monroe & Howell, TR, 1966)
- Amazona oratrix hondurensis (Lousada & Howell, SNG, 1997)
- Amazona pretrei (Temminck, 1830) - Red-spectacled Amazon
- Amazona rhodocorytha (Salvadori, 1890) - Red-browed Amazon
- Amazona tresmariae (Nelson, 1900) - Tres Marias Amazon
- Amazona tucumana (Cabanis, 1885) - Tucuman Amazon
- Amazona ventralis (Statius Müller, PL, 1776) - Hispaniolan Amazon
- Amazona versicolor (Statius Müller, PL, 1776) - St. Lucia Amazon
- Amazona vinacea (Kuhl, 1820) - Vinaceous-breasted Amazon
- Amazona viridigenalis (Cassin, 1853) - Red-crowned Amazon
- Amazona vittata (Boddaert, 1783) - Puerto Rican Amazon
- Amazona vittata vittata (Boddaert, 1783)
- Amazona vittata gracilipes (Ridgway, 1915)
- Amazona xantholora (Gray, GR, 1859) - Yucatan Amazon