The Yucatan amazon (''Amazona xantholora''), also known as the yellow-lored amazon, Yucatan parrot or yellow-lored parrot is a species of bird in subfamily

Arinae The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and (formerly) the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familiar an ...

of 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 ...

, the African and New World parrots. It is found in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

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 ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, 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 ...

.Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxa

Taxonomy and systematics

The Yucatan amazon is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The Yucatan amazon is long and weighs . It is mostly green. Adult males are chrome yellow on their lores and the sides of their forehead; the rest of the forhead and most of their crown are white. The area around and behind their eye is red and their ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

are dusky. Their rear crown is greenish blue, their nape green, and the rest of their upperparts and their underparts are yellowish green. Most of the body feathers have black edges that give a scalloped appearance. Their middle pair of tail feathers are green with pale yellowish green tips, the next pair are yellowish green with a yellow base and a red streak near the base, and the rest have progressively more red replacing the yellowish green. Their wing's leading edge and primary coverts are red, the outermost

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

are green with blue towards the end, and the rest of their primaries and their secondaries are rich blue. Their iris is orange surrounded by bare white skin and their bill and legs are yellow. Adult females differ from males with a greenish blue forehead and crown, paler yellow lores, very little red on the face, traces of duskiness on the ear coverts, and green primary coverts.Wade, M. and C. K. Ghalambor (2020). Yellow-lored Parrot (''Amazona xantholora''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.yelpar1.01 retrieved March 1, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The Yucatan amazon is found throughout the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

in the states of

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

, and

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

and slightly into northern Belize. A significant population also resides on

Isla Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

. A specimen was collected in 1947 on the Honduran island of

Roatán Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...

and there are a few eBird records from there and many from northern Guatemala. The species is found in the interior and edges of deciduous and

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spec ...

forest, both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

, and also in pine savannah. It elevation it ranges from sea level up to about .

Behavior

Flocking

Flocks of thirty or more typically move together between roosting and foraging sites, and roosts may contain 1500 individiuals.

Feeding

The Yucatan amazon's diet has not been studied, but is assumed to include seeds, fruits, flowers, nuts, legumes, and crops like the diet of the

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 ...

(''A. albifrons'').

Breeding

The Yucatan amazon's breeding season has not been fully described but appears to include March to May. It nests in hollows in trees or stumps. The clutch size is four or five eggs and the incubation period is 22 to 28 days. The time to fledging and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The Yucatan amazon is highly vocal except when feeding. A characteristic call by pairs is a barking "''rek-rek-rek-rek'' or ''rek-rek rek-rek rrehr''". Other calls include "a rolled ''reeeah-h'' and ''kyeh-kyeh keeei-i-iirr'', and screechy ''ree-o-rak zeek ree-o-rah''."

Status

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 ...

has assessed the Yucatan amazon as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and an estimated population of between 20,000 and 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. Logging and the pet trade are identified as potential threats. "Large-scale development of vacation properties also threatens to destroy and fragment remaining tropical deciduous forests along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula." File:Goldzuegelamazone.JPG, Pet File:Amazona xantholora -Xcaret Eco Park -Mexico-8a.jpg, Female at

Xcaret Park Xcaret Park ( es, el parque Xcaret; ) is a privately owned and operated theme park, resort and self-described ecotourism development located in the Riviera Maya, a portion of the Caribbean coastline of Mexico's state of Quintana Roo. It is part ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1048537

Yucatan amazon The Yucatan amazon (''Amazona xantholora''), also known as the yellow-lored amazon, Yucatan parrot or yellow-lored parrot is a species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Bel ...

Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Birds of the Caribbean Birds of Belize Least concern biota of North America

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot