St. Vincent Amazon

Facts

IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)

Facts about this animal

The St. Vincent Amazon is a large, heavy parrot with a length of about 40 cm. The forehead, forecrown, lores and the area around the eyes are creamy-white, merging to orange on the hindcrown and the throat. The ear coverts and the posterior of the cheeks are violet-blue. The long feathers of the nape and the hindneck are olive green tinged with blue and tipped with black; the foreneck is orange. It has bronze-brown feathers, tipped with black. The abdomen is suffused with green. The tail feathers are orange at the base with a wide central band of dark violet-blue and broadly tipped with orange-yellow. The upper tail coverts are bronze-brown tipped with green. The carpal edge of the wings is orange, the upper tertials dark green, tinged with brown, while the lower are tinged with violet-blue and sometimes tipped with yellow. The primary coverts are green with the outer ones edged with dull violet-blue. It has violet-blue outer secondaries with orange bases and centrally banded with green, becoming violet-blue near the tips. The secondary coverts are orange-brown with concealed green bases. The median and the lesser wing coverts are light bronze-brown and the greater wing coverts and the underside of the flight feathers are yellow. Its bill is light horn coloured, tinged with olive green and marked with grey at the base. The iris is orange and it has pale grey legs. Immature birds are similar to the adult but the brighter colours are subdued.

Did you know?
that, although only a few hundred birds remain in the wild, the St. Vincent parrot is hunted for it's edible flesh and is also often taken from the nest for illegal pet trade?

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	PSITTACIFORMES
Suborder	PSITTACI
Family	PSITTACIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Amazona guildingii
Name (English)	St. Vincent Amazon
Name (French)	Amazone de Guilding, Amazone de St.-Vincent
Name (German)	Königsamazone
Name (Spanish)	Amazona de San Vincente
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Juan Capparós

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Habitat	Tropical forest
Wild population	Approx. 700-800 (1999)
Zoo population	135 registered by the International Studbook (2005), of which 11 reported to ISIS (2008)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 11D of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Some veterinary or customs authorities require that all psittacine birds are ringed upon importation. Recommended ring diameter for amazons 10-12 mm depending of species.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Stavenn

Why do zoos keep this animal

With probably less than 800 birds surviving in the wild the St. Vincent's parrot is vulnerable to extinction. With a view of building up a self-sustaining reserve population, an International Studbook has been established under the WAZA umbrella, and coordinated conservation breeding programmes are operated at the regional level by AZA.

Like other parrots, St. Vincent amazons are conspicuous and attractive birds, which are good ambassador species for the conservation of neotropical forests. They have an interesting anatomy and behaviour, are intelligent birds able to mimic human speech and even to associate words with their meanings, and are thus also of educational interest. Zoos may keep amazon parrots also for animal welfare reasons as they may have to take care of confiscated birds, or former pet birds.

How this animal should be kept

Parrots must not be kept chained and must not be pinioned. If feather clipped, they should have available an area corresponding at least to that of an aviary for this species, and there must be ample climbing opportunities.

An aviary for a pair must have a surface of no less than 3 x 2 m and a height of at least 2 m. In cold and temperate climates a frost free shelter or indoor aviary of at least 2 m² x 2 m high is necessary.

A variety of branches for perching, climbing and chewing is necessary to keep these intelligent birds busy.

Parrots may select food items on the basis of colour and texture rather than on taste or nutrient content. Therefore it is important to provide a variety of nutritionally valuable and, at the same time, interesting food. Pellets provide an ideal diet only in combination with other favourable and nutritionally suitable feeds, e.g. a mixture of apple, carrots soaked corn and vitamin/mineral supplement, soaked sunflower seeds, fruit (e.g. grapes, banana, pear, plum, orange, mango), vegetables (e.g. sweet pepper, chicory, courgette), nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts), and dog pellets.