Amazon Parrots
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PARROTS IN GENERAL:
Parrots are gaily and boldly colored birds. Their plumage, which is evenly but thinly distributed over their bodies, consists of patches of solid color, often sharply contrasting one with another.
All parrots share a number of distinctive features. The most obvious of these is the characteristic parrot bill which consists of a downward-curving and somewhat hooked upper mandible which fits neatly over a smaller, upward-curving lower mandible.
The feet of parrots are also unusual. The two outer toes of the foot point backwards and grip in opposition to the two forward pointing inner toes, providing them with an extremely powerful grasp, enabling them to hold and manipulate objects close to their bill.
Most parrots are tree-dwellers, and they tend to be most plentiful in and around lowland tropical forests. They feed on fruits, especially wild figs, seed, nuts, berries, buds and blossoms.
Parrots nest in holes, usually in trees but sometimes among rocks or in termite mounds. The two to five white eggs hatch after about three weeks. The helpless young are fed by both parents on predigested food that is regurgitated.
Orange-winged Amazon Parrot
The Orange-winged Amazon Parrot, Amazona amaxonica, is 13 to 14 inches long. General plumage of adults is green. There is a prominent orange wing speculum across the bases of the outer three secondaries. The outermost feathers are edged with blue. The bill is horn colored with gray towards the tip. The iris is orange, and the legs pale gray.
They are distributed in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas south to eastern Peru and southern Brazil. They are also found on Trinidad and Tobago.
These bird are very sociable. During the day they are generally seen in pairs flying above the forest canopy or in the crowns of tall trees foraging for fruits and seeds. In the evening they roost communally, up to more than six hundred birds together.
Two to four eggs constitute the normal clutch, with incubation about three weeks. Only the female broods. She leaves the nest for short periods when the male comes to feed her. During the day the male remains close to the nest, but at dusk he flies off to the communal roost. After hatching, the young remain in the nest for two months.
Lilac-crowned Amazon Parrot
The Lilac-crowned Amazon Parrot, Amazona finschi, has a general plumage of green, paler and more yellowish on under parts. The feathers are edged with dusky black. The forehead and fore crown are deep maroon. The iris is orange and legs greenish-gray.
Although sometimes found at sea level, the Lilac-crowned Amazon is more abundant in wooded foothills and mountains in W. Mexico.
Outside the breeding season these parrots are generally seen in flocks, sometimes reaching two to three hundred birds.
A normal clutch is two eggs, with incubation 29 days. Young birds leave the nest when they are 60 days old, but are not fully independent until 3 weeks later.
