Mealy Amazon - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies farinosa
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Camp Darién, Darién Province, Panama, February 2018

Alternative name: Mealy Parrot

Amazona farinosa

Includes: Northern Mealy Amazon (Blue-crowned Parrot/Amazon) and Southern Mealy Amazon

Identification

38-43 cm (15-17 in)

• Green plumage
• Paler face and underparts
• Back and nape have a whitish tinge
• Red speculum
• Brownish-maroon to amber eyes
• Broad white eye-ring

Subspecies Variation

Photo © by AWPittman
Amazon Rain Forest, Ecuador, December 2014

To distinguish races virenticeps from guatemalae away from their natural habitat look for the extension of the blue on the head. Race virenticeps has the front and sometimes the area above the eyes bluish. Sometimes mixed with some very small yellow or even red feathers. From the back of the head down the nape there is a dark-grey patch of feathers (nominate farinosa has a dark black scalloping). Depending on the lightfall it might sometimes show a purple haze. Extension varies between individuals. Race guatemalae has the blue all over the crown to the back of the head and no dark grey towards the nape. The blue may vary from a soft-powder blue to rather dark blue.
Bill colour is variable in both subspecies: Completely grey, greyish or horn-coloured with a blackish tip or even complete shiny black.

Distribution

Subspecies farinosa
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick, Puerto Maldonado, Reserva Nacional Tambopata, Madre de Dios Department, Peru, August 2018

Central and South America
Central America: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

• A. f. guatemalae:

• Caribbean slope of south-eastern Mexico to north-western Honduras

• A. f. virenticeps:

• Honduras (Sula Valley) to extreme western Panama

• A. f. farinosa:

• Eastern Panama to Colombia, the Guianas, north-eastern Bolivia and eastern Brazil

Two additional subspecies inornata and chapmani are generally considered invalid^[1].

For a while, this species was split by some authorities with farinosa as Southern Mealy Amazon and guatemalae and virenticeps as Northern Mealy Amazon (Blue-crowned Parrot/Amazon). However, there seems to be a broad morphological intergrade zone in Panama and they are not vocally distinct[2].

Habitat

Humid to semi-humid lowland forest and plantations.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest in a tree hole. The 3 eggs are incubated by the female for 28 days. The male feeds both the female (whilst she is incubating) and later the chicks, with regurgitated food.

Diet

The diet includes fruits, seeds, berries, nuts, blossoms, and leaf buds.

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 15.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.15.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/

1. Avibase
2. Birdforum Member observations
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
4. Wikipedia
5. Birdforum thread which discussed this possible split of Mealy Parrot in posts starting with number 148

• List of references

Recommended Citation

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

External Links

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