Amazona barbadensis
The Yellow-shouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis) is a strikingly beautiful parrot, renowned for its vibrant plumage and charismatic demeanor. Averaging 33-36 cm (13-14 inches) in length, its body is primarily brilliant green, often edged with darker hues, creating a scaled appearance. The most distinctive field marks are the prominent yellow patches on its shoulders, which intensify with age, along with a variable extent of yellow on the crown, face, and lores, often extending to the cheeks...
Found primarily in arid and semi-arid coastal scrublands, thorny forests, dry deciduous woodlands, and often near human-modified landscapes at low elevations, typically below 500 meters.
Their diet consists mainly of a wide variety of fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, flowers, and nectar; they occasionally feed on agricultural crops.
Yellow-shouldered Amazons are diurnal, with peak activity during early morning and late afternoon when they forage and engage in social interactions. They roost communally in large flocks at specific sites, often tall trees or cliff faces, dispersing into smaller groups or pairs during the day. F...
The Yellow-shouldered Amazon has a restricted and fragmented geographic distribution, primarily found on several arid islands off the northern coast of Venezuela and a small, isolated population on the Venezuelan mainland. The main insular populations reside on Margarita Island, La Blanquilla, Lo...
Vulnerable
- The Yellow-shouldered Amazon is one of the few Amazon parrot species primarily adapted to arid coastal environments, rather than humid rainforests. - These intelligent birds are known for their ability to mimic sounds, including human speech, which unfortunately contributed to their popularity ...