Taxonomy
The Yellow-billed Amazon was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae.
Description
The Yellow-billed Amazon is 28 cm (11 in) long. Its plumage is mostly green with pink over the throat, upper breast and sides of neck, and blue in the larger wing feathers. Feathers over the ears are dark blue-green. The bare white eye-rings are surrounded by a narrow rim of white plumage, which continues as a narrow band of white over the forehead. Plumage over the lores is pale blue and the fore-crown is blue. A barred appearance over the back and sides of neck arises from the green feathers having black tips and edges. The tail feathers are green with red bases. Its beak is yellow, its irises are brown, and its legs are pink. The adult male and female are identical in external appearance. Juveniles have grey on the upper mandible and are otherwise similar to adults.
Distribution and habitat
The Yellow-billed Amazon is found up to 1200m on the island of Jamaica where it is more abundant in the John Crow Mountains, on Mount Diablo and in the Cockpit Country. In the breeding season it stays within rainforest.
Status
The Yellow-billed Amazon is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are a protected species being listed on appendix II of CITES, which makes trade and export of trapped wild birds illegal. Its populations are fragmented and it has a small range. It is threatened by habitat loss, illegal trapping for the pet trade, and felling of trees with suitable nesting cavities. They are also threatened by potential hybridization with non-endemic pet Amazon parrots, which occasionally escape particularly during the hurricane season.
