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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Hispaniolan
Amazon |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Psittaciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Psittacidae
(true parrots) |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Amazona
ventralis |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
Hispaniolan parrot is a medium-sized parrot with
a hooked beak and gray feet. In general, this parrot
has green plumage with a white face, beak, and forehead;
slight blue crown; red spot on chin and belly; and
blue primaries. |
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| SIZE: |
Approximately
28-29 cm (11.2-11.6 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately
200-350 g (7-12.3 oz.) |
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| DIET: |
Includes
seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, and leaves |
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| INCUBATION: |
Approximately
28 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
2-3 eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
60-75
days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
3-5
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 80 years |
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| RANGE: |
Haiti,
Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabits
montane forests and lowlands |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Less
than 10,000 |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
II |
| USFWS |
Vunerable |
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| 1. |
These
birds are very good at mimicking human speech
and are known to be noisy. When Amazon parrots
were first discovered they were called kriken,
which is derived from the French word meaning
"screechers".
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| 2. |
When
the flock finds a new tree with fresh buds, they
all land on a branch with much squawking. The branch
bends under their collective weight and they all
begin to chew at the fresh branch. The bark is crushed
in their powerful beaks and they swallow the plant
juices. |
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| 3. |
Amazons
use their feet as hands. |
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| 4. |
Like
most parrots, Amazons are monogamous, choosing a
partner for life. |
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Amazons
are messy eaters - their extremely strong beaks
are perfectly adapted for eating all sorts of
nuts and seeds, as seen in their ability to crack
open incredibly hard-shelled nuts with ease.
In the course of daily feeding, Amazons allow
plenty of seeds (while eating, as well as in their
droppings) to fall to the forest floor, thus generating
much of the forest growth.
Parrots
are considered pests because their eating habits
are destructive to crops.
This
parrot is very popular in the pet trade and is
often taken as a nestling or an egg. These birds
also fall victim to loss of habitat through deforestation.
The
U.S. Wild Bird Act forbids the commercial import
of any bird listed by CITES which includes most
parrots - endangered or threatened.
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|
|
| Bosch,
K. and U. Wedde. Encyclopedia of Amazon Parrots.
New Jersey. T.F.H. Publications. 1981. |
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|
Forshaw,
J.M. Parrots of the World. New Jersey.
T.F.H. Publications Inc. 1978.
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| Marrison,
C. and A. Greensmith. Birds of the World.
New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc. 1993. |
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| Perrins,
C. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Birds. New
York: Facts on File Publications. 1985. |
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| http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html |
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