Amazon parrot

Amazon parrot is the common name for a parrot of the genus Amazona. These are medium-sized parrots native to the New World ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Most amazon parrots are predominantly green, with accenting colors that depend on the species and can be quite vivid. They feed primarily on seeds, nuts, and fruits, supplemented by leafy matter. Many amazon parrots have a remarkable ability to mimic human speech and other sounds. Partly because of this, they are popular as pets or companion parrots, and a small industry has developed in breeding parrots in captivity for this market. This popularity has led to many parrots being taken from the wild to the extent that some species have become threatened. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora treaty has made the capture of wild parrots for the pet trade illegal in an attempt to help protect wild populations. The genus Amazona (to which amazons belong) was established by René Lesson in 1830. It was a Latinized version of the name Amazone given to them in the 18th century by the Comte de Buffon, who believed they were native to Amazonian jungles. The taxonomy of the yellow-crowned amazon (Amazona ochrocephala complex) is disputed, with some authorities only listing a single species (A. ochrocephala), while others split it into as many as three species (A. ochrocephala, A. auropalliata and A. oratrix). The split is primarily based on differences related to extension of yellow to the plumage and the colour of bill and legs. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA do not support the traditional split. The taxonomic status of the blue-winged amazon (Amazona gomezgarzai) has also been questioned. The yellow-faced parrot (Alipiopsitta xanthops) was traditionally placed within this genus of amazon parrots, but recent research has shown that it is closer to the short-tailed parrot and the species from the genus Pionus, resulting in it being transferred to the monotypic genus Alipiopsitta. Populations of amazon parrots that lived on the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe are now extinct. It is not known if they were separate species, subspecies, or if they originated from parrots introduced to the islands by humans, so they are regarded as hypothetical extinct species. No evidence of them remains, and their taxonomy may never be established. Populations of several parrot species were described mainly in the unscientific writings of early travelers, and subsequently scientifically described by several naturalists (to have their names linked to the species that they were proposing) mainly in the 20th century, with no more evidence than the earlier observations and without specimens. An illustration of a specimen termed 'George Edwards' parrot' has sometimes been considered a possibly distinct, extinct species, but it may also have been a yellow-billed or Cuban amazon with aberrant colouration.