The blue-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the blue-fronted parrot, the turquoise-fronted amazon and the turquoise-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon

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 ...

s kept in captivity as a

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...

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 ...

. Its common name is derived from the distinctive blue/turquoise marking on its head just above its beak.

Taxonomy

The blue-fronted amazon was one of the many species originally described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Its specific epithet is the feminine form of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

adjective ''aestivus'', "of the summer". Two subspecies are recognized: *''A. a. aestiva'' ( nominate) is found in eastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.Forshaw, p. 558 The leading edge of the wing ("shoulder") is red. *''A. a. xanthopteryx'' occurs from northern and eastern

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

through adjacent parts of Brazil, to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The "shoulder" is partly or wholly yellow. Generally with more yellow to the head than nominate. The

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

''xanthopteryx'' has been treated as a separate species, but the two subspecies

interbreed In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different variety (botany), varieties, subspecies, species or genus, genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has gene ...

freely where they come into contact. Additionally, there are significant individual variations in both facial pattern and amount of yellow/red to the "shoulder". In one extreme, individuals with essentially no yellow on the head and entirely green "shoulders" are known from north-western Argentina.

Description

The blue-fronted amazon is a mainly green parrot about long. They have blue feathers on the forehead above the beak and yellow on the face and crown. Distribution of blue and yellow varies greatly among individuals. Unlike most other ''Amazona'' parrots, its beak is mostly black. There is no overt

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 ...

to the human eye, but analysis of the feathers using spectrometry, a method which allows the plumage to be seen as it would be by a parrot's tetrachromatic vision, shows clear differences between the plumage of the sexes. Juveniles of parrots are duller and have dark irises.

Distribution and habitat

The range of the blue-fronted amazon extends over eastern and northern

, eastern

and northern

. It is found in forests (though generally avoids extensive humid forests such as the

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

), woodland, savanna and palm groves.Juniper, T., & M. Parr (1998). A Guide to the Parrots of the World. Pica Press, East Sussex. A small feral breeding population is also present in the greener regions of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Although they have been observed in the wild 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 ...

, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.

Breeding

The blue-fronted amazon nests in tree cavities. The oval eggs are white and measure around 38 × 30 mm. There are usually three to five in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 27 days and the chicks leave the nest about 60 days after hatching.

Status

The status of this species is evaluated as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

. However, while it remains common throughout a significant part of its range, there is evidence of a population decline, and this species has been heavily traded: Since 1981 when it was listed on

CITES CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

Appendix II, 413,505 wild-caught individuals have been recorded in international trade (UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database, January 2005). It is regarded as a crop pest in parts of its native range. Paradoxically, illegal trade may have contributed to expansions of the range of this parrot: It is becoming common in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, which is not a part of its historical range, something attributed to escaped caged birds.José Felipe Monteiro Pereira (2008). ''Aves e Pássaros Comuns do Rio de Janeiro''. Pp. 68. Technical Books, Rio de Janeiro. 2008.

Aviculture

The blue-fronted amazon is commonly seen as a pet, both in South America and other parts of the world. Their talking ability varies greatly from individual to individual, but some speak nearly as well as the yellow-headed amazon group ( yellow-naped,

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, yellow-crowned, double yellow-headed). They seem to have a proclivity for singing. They require interaction but also can play with toys contently for several hours at a time. Pets require plenty of toys, perches, and climbing room. As with some other birds, under no circumstances are blue-fronted amazons to eat avocado. Some individuals, particularly males, can be aggressive in spring, the mating season. An extremely rare red (or chocolate raspberry) mutation of the species appeared in captivity in 2004, bred by the psittaculturist Howard Voren. The mutation results in yellow plumage being replaced by that of a red/pink hue and greens with a chocolate-brown, with the depth and intensity of color varying by location upon the body.

Gallery

Image:Amazona aestiva -yellow on wings-4-2c.jpg, ''A. a. xanthopteryx'' File:Amazona aestiva -pet eating from spoon-8a.jpg, Pet blue-fronted amazon eats from a spoon File:Amazona aestiva -Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil -head-8a.jpg, At Parque das Aves, Brazil Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) -8-2rc.jpg, From the feral population in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Turquoise-fronted amazon (Amazona aestiva) 2.JPG, Wild bird
in the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest Flooded grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but i ...

File:Papagaio verdadeiro 2.jpg File:Blue fronted amazon taking shower.jpg, Pet blue fronted amazon inside the shower Amazona aestiva MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.148.5.jpg, ''Amazona aestiva'' - MHNT File:Pet blue fronted amazon in her cage.jpg, A pet blue fronted amazon in her cage