Yellow-shouldered Amazon

The Yellow-shouldered Amazon is mainly green and about 33 cm long. It has a whitish forehead and lores, and a yellow crown, ocular region and - often - ear coverts and chin. The bare eye-ring is white. The thighs and the bend of the wing are yellow, but both can be difficult to see. The throat, cheeks and belly often have a bluish tinge. As most members of the genus Amazona, it has broad dark blue tips to the remiges and a red wing-speculum. Its beak is horn coloured.

The Yellow-shouldered Amazon is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Yellow-shouldered Amazon, Amazona barbadensis also known as Yellow-shouldered Parrot is a parrot of the genus Amazona that is found in the arid areas of northern Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of Margarita and La Blanquilla, and the island of Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles). It has been extirpated from Aruba and possibly also Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles). More

Yellow-shouldered Amazons, has a blue eye region). However, outside its range, several other Amazon Parrot species have as much or even more yellow on their heads. Yellow-shouldered Parrot or Yellow-shouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis barbadensis Vocalizations / Calls: The Yellow-shouldered Amazon call is a rolling cur'r'r'k. Diet and feeding Its primary diet consists of fruits, seeds and cactus flowers. More

The yellow-shouldered Amazon is a very special bird. Its scientific name is Amazona barbadensis and those who work with them affectionately call them Barbies. They are in fact the Barbie Dolls of the Amazon world. They are best described as being a perfectly proportioned and beautifully colored blue-fronted Amazon in miniature. The major difference being that the barbie has a white forehead and a horn colored beak. There is another pretty color variation that is only seen in barbies. More

Yellow-shouldered Amazons can probably live up to 50 to 60 years or more. Appearance and Personality Yellow-shouldered Amazons are bright green with a face variably colored with blue, yellow and white. They are somewhat similar in appearance to blue-fronted Amazons but are distinguished by size (yellow-shoulders are smaller) and facial coloration. Yellow-shoulders have yellow on the face and crown with pale coloration on the forehead and white eye rings. More

Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot perched on branch Credit: © Sam Williams photos Photos videoVideo 1 eNewsletter SIGNUP FOR EMAIL UPDATES Did You Know?As juveniles the Yellow-shouldered Amazon may be kept in colonies, but must be separated into pairs once older due to their aggressiveness. More

captive-raised yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots on Margarita Island, Venezuela. Conservation Biology, 12: 430-441. More

Yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot is vulnerable due to habitat loss, drought, predation and intense poaching. As a result of these pressures populations of these parrots will crash if nothing is done to aid their survival. More

The Yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot is widely exploited for trade, nestlings are often taken for pets, they are intelligent, inquisitive and very assertive which does not make for a good pet, once the owner ‘gets bored’ the birds are often neglected and quite often, die. More

The Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot is a medium sized parrot with a short tail. As is typical of the Amazona genus A. barbadensis is mostly green with colourful head, wing, thigh, and tail feathers. The extent of this colouration varies between individuals. The subspecies A. barbadensis rothschildi is described as having less yellow on the head and bend of wing. The validity of this classification however, is much disputed. More

Yellow-shouldered Amazon Amazona barbadensis 2009 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Vulnerable Justification This species has a small range within which trade and habitat loss and possibly introduced mammalian predators are likely to be causing declines. This combination qualifies it as Vulnerable. More

• Festive Amazon • Yellow-shouldered Amazon • Blue-fronted Amazon (or Turquoise-fronted Amazon) • Yellow-crowned Amazon (supporting page: Panama Amazon) • Yellow-naped Amazon • Yellow-headed Amazon • Kawall's Amazon • Orange-winged Amazon • Scaly-naped Amazon • Mealy Amazon • Vinaceous-breasted Amazon (or Vinaceous Amazon) • St. Lucia Amazon • Red-necked Amazon • St. More