Orange-winged Amazon

Overview

The orange-winged amazon (Amazona amazonica), also known as the orange-winged parrot or loro guaro, is a large parrot species native to tropical South America. It is classified as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, although it faces pressures from the pet trade and agricultural persecution.

Identification

• Mainly green plumage with blue and yellow feathers on the head, the extent of which varies between individuals.
• Approximately 33 cm in length and weighing around 340 g.
• Orange feathers visible in the wings and tail during flight.
• Upper mandible is partly horn-coloured (grey) and partly dark-grey; males and females are identical in external appearance.
• Noisy calls consisting of loud, high-pitched screams.

Habitat

Found in forest and semi-open country across a range from Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago south to Peru, Bolivia, and central Brazil. Introduced breeding populations have also established themselves in Puerto Rico and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Diet

Feeds on fruit, seeds, nuts, blossoms, leaf buds, and berries, including the fruit of palm trees and occasionally cocoa, mangoes, and oranges. The species roosts communally in palm and other trees, with large numbers often visible at dawn and dusk.

Did you know?

In Tenerife, introduced populations have been observed successfully hybridising with feral scaly-headed parrots and even attempting to breed with monk parakeets and rose-ringed parakeets, sometimes adopting the former's unusual nest-building behaviour.