Kawall's amazon (''Amazona kawalli''), also known as the white-faced amazon, white-cheeked amazon or Kawall's parrot, is a relatively large species of

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

in the family

Psittacidae The family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the roughly 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Old World or Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropic ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the south-central

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. After not having been recorded in the wild for around 70 years, the species was rediscovered in the 1980s.

Taxonomy

Considerable

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

confusion has surrounded this species. "Aberrant

mealy amazon The mealy amazon has been split into the following species: * Southern mealy amazon, ''Amazona farinosa'' * Northern mealy amazon The northern mealy amazon or northern mealy parrot (''Amazona guatemalae'') is among the largest parrots in the genu ...

s", which actually were the Kawall's amazon, were first noted in 1904. It was only in 1989 that the Kawall's amazon was recognised as a species after Brazilian bird keeper Nelson Kawall (after whom the species is named) received a few unusual

amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

Description

The species is medium-sized for a parrot, reaching a length of . The plumage is mostly green, with a narrow white strip at the base of the bill, narrow white eye-ring, and some blue and red present on the outermost flight feathers. Although it resembles the mealy amazon, the Kawall's amazon can easily be recognised by its white patch of skin at the base of the bill, relatively small gray ocular ring (may fade to white in captivity), red near the base of the tail, overall brighter green hue and voice.

Distribution and habitat

Kawall's amazon has been reported from the Amazon basin of Brazil in Amazonas and Pará. A possible wider distribution, or the existence of isolated populations, is suggested by the existence of a previously misidentified specimen labelled 'Colombia', and a captive bird found on the edge of Amazonas National Park. The species inhabits lowland rainforest and shows a preference for permanently flooded woodlands and riverine forest edges.

Ecology

Kawall's amazon has been observed feeding on tree seeds, palm fruits, flowers, and young leaves. It nests in tree cavities, and while it may search out suitable nesting cavities in the dry season, appears to restrict the actual nesting to periods when the forest is flooded.

Status

Although Kawall's amazon was only rediscovered in the wild relatively recently, it appears to be locally fairly common; however populations are declining due to habitat loss from

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. A certain amount of capture for the parrot trade also seems present. The species is currently classified as least concern by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1274648 Kawall' Birds of the Brazilian Amazon Endemic birds of Brazil Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of South America Kawall's amazon Taxonomy articles created by Polbot