Hispaniolan Amazon - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by firecrest15
Punta Cana East Dominican Republic, West Indies, January 2019

Alternative name: Hispaniolan Parrot

Amazona ventralis

Identification

28–31 cm (11-12¼ in)

• Green overall plumage
• White forehead and eyering
• Some blue crown and cheek patches
• A few red feathers on throat
• Black ear-coverts
• Maroon belly patch
• Blue wing-coverts
• Yellow undertail with red base
• Horn coloured bill
• Brown iris and feet

Similar Species

Cuban Amazon

Distribution

Endemic to Haiti and Dominican Republic.

Introduced to Puerto Rico where locally common, also St Croix and St Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Conservation Concerns

Vulnerable according to the 2008 IUCN Red List. Threatened by trapping for the pet trade.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Forests at all elevations, mainly limited by the need for nest cavities and availability of fruits and seeds. In Puerto Rico found in woodlands and forests of the foothills.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of palm fruits and seeds, guava, bananas and maize.

Breeding

They nest in a tree hole, mostly a palm tree though sometimes in a cactus. Captive birds apparently lay between 2 and 4 eggs.

Vocalisation

Call: loud bugling in flight; loud screeches and squawks when perched.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Collar, N., Boesman, P. & Sharpe, C.J. (2020). Hispaniolan Amazon (Amazona ventralis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/54733 on 28 March 2020)
4. Neotropical Birds
5. Birdforum Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Hispaniolan Amazon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Hispaniolan_Amazon

External Links

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