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Species of the month

Yellow-shouldered Amazon

Some facts on this parrot:

Length: 33 cm.

Weight: Average 230 grams.

Diet: Fruits, seeds, and cactus flowers.

Habitat: Dry areas and savanna up to 450 m. in elevation. Sandy soil with thorn bushes, cacti and low trees.

Range: Northern Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of Margarita and La Blanquilla, and the island of Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles).

Surviving number: Estimated at 4,000.

Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1).

First described: By the German naturalist Gmelin in 1788, who originally named it Psittacus barbadensis.

Amazona barbadensis has a raucous call and a green outfit. It forages on fruits, blossoms and seeds of cactus and thorny scrub, returning at evening to its roosting sites in nearby valleys and woodlands. Females lay 2 to 4 eggs in a nest cavity on rocky cliffs. Incubation lasts 26 days, and the fledging period is two months. Poachers threaten this bird by removing chicks from their nests for the pet trade.

(Archived from Template:Species of the week)