Mealy Parrot

Race inornata
Photo by Steve Blain
North-western Ecuador

Alternative name: Mealy Amazon

Amazona farinosa

Identification

38-40 cm

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

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 variabel in both subspecies: Completely grey, greyish or horn-coloured with a blackish tip or even complete shiny black.

Distribution

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^[1]

There are 3 subspecies:

• 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].

It has been proposed to separate the two first subspecies into Blue-crowned Parrot (Amazon)

Habitat

Humid to semi-humid forest and plantations.

Behaviour

Breeding

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, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. Birdforum thread which discussed this possible split of Mealy Parrot in posts starting with number 148

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Mealy Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mealy_Parrot

External Links

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