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

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

. 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 the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

): 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 al ...

), 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 biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

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 the ...

, found from western Mexico to southwestern

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

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

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

* 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 (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

; and is most often seen in small

flocks Flocking is the behaviour exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Computer simulations and mathematical models that have been developed to emulate the flocking behaviours of birds can also generally be applie ...

of up to 20 birds. They are seen in a variety of different habitats from wet regions such as

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s, to drier areas such as

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

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 (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, 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, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Introduced breeding populations have also been reported in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

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 Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. Eggs are incubated for about 26 days and chicks

leave the nest Leaving the nest is a phrase used to describe the action of a young person moving out of the housing provided by their parent(s)/guardian(s). The word "nest" is being used here to refer to the word "home". Leaving the nest is the first step in the ...

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 other common pet species like dogs and cats a ...

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 The white-fronted amazon (''Amazona albifrons'') also known as the white-fronted parrot, or spectacled amazon parrot, is a Central American species of parrot. They can imitate a range from 30 to 40 different sounds. Like other large parrots, the ...

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

Taxa named by Anders Sparrman