St. Vincent Amazon

1 St. Vincent Amazon Breed Overview

When it comes to the brightest, most vividly colored parrot, none surpasses the St. Vincent Amazon. Larger in size with multicolored feathers, it is hailed as one of the most beautiful Amazon species. Because its small island habitat in the wild is very fragile, the St. Vincent Amazon is near extinction, and captive numbers have dwindled accordingly.

Chinese Name: St. Vincent Amazon

English Name: St. Vincent Amazon

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Aves

Subclass: Neornithes

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Genus: Amazona

Distribution: Found only on the island of St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean, in Central America.

2 Physical Characteristics of the St. Vincent Amazon

St. Vincent Amazon (details)

The ideal St. Vincent Amazon should be about 41 cm long, weighing 660–700 g. Because it is larger than other parrots, it is also heavier. Its plumage varies greatly and is basically divisible into green, orange, and brown colors.

The St. Vincent Amazon’s forehead, crown, and area around the eyes are white with a faint yellow, connecting to orange-yellow on the back of the neck; the cheeks, throat, ear coverts, and surrounding coverts are blue-purple; the neck feathers range from green to olive-green with blackish edges. The breast and lower belly are bronze-brown, each feather with a fine white edge. The under-tail coverts are yellow-green. The feathers below the shoulders, lower back, and above the tail are bronze-brown to olive-green, with green tips on the upper tail feathers. The primaries go from green to bronze-brown on the front half, then orange-brown, then blue-purple; the inner flight feathers are green with blue-purple tips. The tail is blue-purple with an orange base, then yellow-to-orange tones; the beak is wax-white, the iris orange-red.

3 St. Vincent Amazon Living Environment

St. Vincent Amazon (details)

The St. Vincent Amazon has very strict temperature demands, especially during incubation. Therefore its breeding rate is low and most people find it hard to keep successfully. Add its limited numbers, and buying it is a major difficulty; the price is very high.

The St. Vincent Amazon likes to inhabit the island’s humid forests and valleys between 300 and 700 m, and also forests that are not too dense but still tree-shaded. Usually alone or in pairs, occasionally gathering in groups of about 30. It likes to perch atop tall trees; although its plumage provides good camouflage, its noisy calls make it easy to find. In undisturbed areas it can be approached and observed to a limited degree; it usually flies off only when feeding noisily. It calls loudly in early morning and afternoon, and at any sign of danger or a companion’s warning it immediately takes off en masse with loud alarm calls. Sometimes it shrieks in flight—a rather noisy parrot.

4 St. Vincent Amazon Care and Breeding

Although they say the St. Vincent Amazon has a low breeding rate, if your method is right, why fear failure? Simply put, the St. Vincent Amazon has fairly strict temperature demands during breeding—meet that, then handle feeding, and add some supplements on that basis and there is little problem. The St. Vincent Amazon reproduces by laying eggs. In the wild the breeding season is March to July; captive breeding begins around spring.

5 St. Vincent Amazon Feeding Guidelines

St. Vincent Amazon (details)

Not only in the domestic market, but even in international bird markets, you may not find a shop selling the St. Vincent Amazon—making it a dream bird for many fans. Not only is the price high, but breeding is also a major difficulty for the St. Vincent Amazon.

In the wild the St. Vincent Amazon mainly eats seeds, berries, nuts, palm fruit, flowers, and plant shoots. For home keeping, pellets are generally recommended, with fruit and nuts as the main snacks.