Green-cheeked amazon

Green-cheeked Amazon: 30.5-33cm. length and 294 grams. The Green-cheeked Parrot (Amazona viridigenalis) has the lores, front yes crown, bright red, with side margins on the back of the neck and upper neck, showing blue feathers with black tips; helmet ears light green, without feathered black tips; nape Boldly adorne

Coat Yes back green with some faint black tips; Grupa Yes upper tail-coverts, Green. green wing coverts with margins black on some weak feathers. The flight feathers, are mostly green, the primary, usually, with dark tips, dark blue or black, and the secondary, with blue tips with red in the outer webs.

From below, the green wings. Underparts are green and slightly yellowish; some feathers show visible dark tips. The tail is green, in general, with a yellow end. Bill has pale yellow; yellow iris; pale gray legs.

although females may have less average red in the head, probably not compatible with sexual dimorphism. The immature One has red in the very small head, with feathers in the central part of the crown green with ends of the subterminal band black and pale blue; feathers on the side of the crown, forming a wide blue band eye.

  • Order : Psittaciformes
  • Family : Psittacidae
  • Genus : Amazona
  • Scientific name : Amazona viridigenalis
  • Quote : ( Cassin , 1853)
  • Protonimo : chrysotis viridigenalis

Habitat

green cheeked amazon parrot

The habitat of the green-cheeked amazon son los deciduous bosques, gallery forests, and evergreen flood forests in the tropical lowlands, with non-breeding birds on dry ridges extending to 1,200 meters in temperate Pinus y Quercus.

frequentation cultivated areas where tall trees remain. Usually in flocks, usually larger than its sympatric conspecifics ( Red-lored Parrot and the Yellow-headed Parrot, with which sometimes mixed); in large flocks in winter. Used to roost communally.

Reproduction

They nest in hollow trees, including abandoned Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus) nests, usually 6-20 meters above the ground. Nests reported in trees Taxodium mucronatum , Bumelia laetivirens Yes Brosimum alicastrum . Reproduction April-May in Tamaulipas. The setting is 3 o 4 eggs. Only females incubate. The incubation lasts 28 days. Young people are cared for for nine weeks.

green-cheek amazon

Food

Foods reported include Pinus seeds, maize, Ehretia berries, Pithecellobium Jew, acorns, and Melia azedarach berries; Introduced populations have adapted to the parks food sources, consuming fruits JuglansLiquidambarEucalyptus Yes Chorisia.

Distribution and status

green cheeked amazon

Northeast endemic Mexico, where Nuevo León records south (south of Monterrey ) through Tamaulipas (mainly in the center and south of the state) and east to San Luis Potosí, north to Veracruz, and southward. south until around 21ºN. They can be considered winter visitors to Brownsville, the southwestern tip of Texas, USA.

The current range appears to be limited to  Tamaulipas Y San Luis Potosí, with no known breeding records in recent decades in Nuevo León o Veracruz, except for the apparently feral population in suburban Monterrey.

wild populations California, Florida, Oahu ( Hawaiian Islands ) Yes Puerto Rico (small numbers in dry southern forests).

Resident but nomadic in winter with some altitudinal movements that lead the birds to higher ground in winter (perhaps to exploit seeds and pine acorns) and with other movements farther from the breeding area, for example, south of Texas.

Apparently, they return to the breeding area in February, dropping along the ridge, but they are more common near the eastern coast, especially around the Sierra de Tamaulipas and on the eastern tracks of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas. On the contrary, sparsely distributed and often only a few strong points like the Sabinas River Valley, Tamaulipas.

The total population is estimated at 3,000-6,500. Popular in captivity locally and previously traded in large numbers internationally. It is clear that recent population declines are due to excessive trade and the continued destruction of habitats on a scale; they are also fired in some areas due to crop damage. There are no large protected areas close at hand and the illegal trade continues.

Conservation

green cheek amazon

• Current IUCN Red List Category: Endangered.

• Demographic trend: Degressive.

• Population size: 2000-4300

The combination of high levels of exploitation for the birdcage trade, habitat loss, and long-term reduced density estimates indicates that this species is declining very rapidly. Therefore, it is considered to be in danger of extinction.

Population justification

In 1992-1994, estimated densities in an area of Mexico indicated a wild population of 3,000 6,500 birds ( CE Enkerlin-Hoeflich a little., 1994 ). This estimate corresponds to approximately  2,000-4,300 mature individuals.

Recorded historical densities for the species were 25.2 birds/km2 in early 1970 ( Castro 1976 ), around 5.7 birds/km2 in an area 1992-1994 ( CE Enkerlin-Hoeflich in 1994, Enkerlin-Hoeflich 1995 ), indicating a population decline of up to 77.4% over a 20-year band. It is suspected that the decline will continue at a higher rate of 50% in ten years, due to threats from capture and forest clearing.

Threat

• From 1970-1982, 16.490 birds (mainly chicks) were legally imported United States.

• Las the illegal exports coming from Mexico and the mortality before the export upwards of 50% they are equivalent to 5.000 birds per year ( Enkerlin-Hoeflich and Hogan, 1997 ).

• Los hunters damage nests during the withdrawal of chicks (sometimes cutting down entire trees), reducing the availability of the nest and leading to the permanent abandonment of the site ( Snyder et the., 2000 ).

• Many gallery forests have been cleared or degraded, with over 80% of the Tamaulipas plains cleared for agriculture (particularly sorghum) and pasture.

• The habitat of the Green-cheeked Parrot is now unevenly distributed in breeding farms, where the pressure is greater than the capture ( Enkerlin-Hoeflich and Hogan, 1997 ).

Current conservation actions

• CITES Appendix I (1992) and part of the European Endangered Species Program [Alphabetical order] of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria ( EAZA ).

• The population of Green-cheeked amazon It is distributed in the Sky Yes Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserves ( AG Navarro in some ., 1998, T. Brush a little., 2003 ), but there are only small colonies in Sierra Gorda and status The sky We do not know ( Wege and Long 1995, AG Navarro in some 1998 ).

• Los cattle They are increasingly aware of the benefits of maintaining large trees, but this is not reflected in practice.

Proposed conservation measures

• Conduct surveys to obtain an estimate of the total population size.

• Monitor populations to determine the degree of decline.

• Identify the most important nesting aggregations for protection ( Enkerlin-Hoeflich and Hogan 1997 ).

• Include ranchers in efforts to reduce harvest and regenerate habitat ( Enkerlin-Hoeflich and Hogan 1997 ).

The Green-cheeked amazon in Captivity

CITES appendix I. (It includes species threatened with extinction. Commercial individuals of these species are permitted only in exceptional circumstances.)

Each captive specimen of this species, which is capable of reproducing, is placed in a well-managed captive breeding program and is not to be sold as a pet, with in order to ensure their long-term survival.

SOURCE: Jacob Castro

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