Amazon Available Parrots

The species we group here

• Yellow-naped Amazon (Amazona auropalliata) - 35-38 cm, 480-680 g, Pacific slope from southern Mexico to north-west Costa Rica. Widely regarded as the finest talker and singer in the genus. IUCN Critically Endangered; transferred to CITES Appendix I at CoP18 in 2019.
• Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) - about 37 cm, 400-500 g, from Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina. Excellent talker, strong singer, IUCN Near Threatened, CITES Appendix II.
• Lilacine Amazon (Amazona lilacina) - about 34 cm, roughly 370 g, endemic to western Ecuador. Notably quieter and gentler than the rest of the genus, which is why experienced keepers seek it out. IUCN Endangered, CITES Appendix II.

Temperament and the hormonal years

Amazons are confident, extroverted and physically bold. They generally handle household change better than Greys and are less prone to phobic behaviour. The trade-off arrives at sexual maturity, typically four to six years old, when many males in particular become seasonally aggressive: pinned eyes, fanned tail, raised nape feathers and a genuine willingness to bite hard.

This is normal biology, not a defect, and it is manageable. Practical measures are a strict twelve-hour dark sleep period, avoiding stroking anywhere other than the head and neck, removing nest-like cavities including boxes and dark cupboard spaces, and keeping interactions on a step-up-and-station basis during the season. Owners who are not warned about this stage are the ones who rehome their bird at year five.

Housing, noise and diet

Minimum indoor enclosure is 91 x 61 x 122 cm (36 x 24 x 48 in), bar spacing 1.9-2.5 cm. Amazons are strong chewers, so powder-coated wrought iron or stainless steel only.

On volume: Amazons scream. Dawn and dusk contact calls are loud, sustained and carry through walls, and Yellow-naped Amazons in particular have regional vocal dialects and a habit of singing at length. They are not apartment birds.

Diet is where Amazons go wrong most often. The genus is strongly predisposed to obesity and to fatty liver disease on a seed-based ration, and to hypovitaminosis A on the same. Build the diet on formulated pellet at roughly 60-70 per cent of intake, add generous dark leafy greens, squash, carrot and pepper for vitamin A precursors, keep fruit modest because of sugar load, and reserve nuts and sunflower seed strictly as training rewards.

Health issues specific to Amazons

• Obesity and hepatic lipidosis - the single most common preventable problem; weigh weekly on a gram scale and track the trend.
• Hypovitaminosis A - presents as recurrent sinusitis, blunted choanal papillae and poor feather condition.
• Amazon foot necrosis - an uncommon but well-described condition of constricting, ulcerative lesions on the feet.
• Aspergillosis - fungal respiratory infection linked to poor ventilation and damp bedding.
• Atherosclerosis - increasingly recognised in older Amazons on high-fat diets.

Legal position

All Amazona species are CITES-listed. Most sit on Appendix II, but the Yellow-naped Amazon was uplisted to Appendix I in 2019, which places it in EU Annex A and therefore requires a bird-specific Article 10 certificate for any commercial transaction inside the European Union, plus matched ringing or microchipping. Cross-border movement of any Amazon requires CITES export and import permits arranged before the bird travels. Confirm the current position with your national CITES management authority, since listings change at each Conference of the Parties.