Black-billed Amazon
Encyclopedia
The Black-billed Amazon, Amazona agilis, is a parrot
endemic
to Jamaica
. Sometimes called the Black-billed Parrot, this Amazon parrot
is mostly green with small patches of red on the wing and sometimes flecked on the head. Its bill makes it easy to separate from most other Amazons, including the Yellow-billed Amazon
, which also lives in Jamaica. It is the smallest Amazona parrot at 25 cm (10 in).
The Black-billed Amazon lives in mountainous rainforest
, usually limestone
rainforest, feeding on fruit, seeds, and nuts, and will take cultivated fruit like mango
s, papaya
s and cucumber
s as well as wild fruits.
The Black-billed Amazon was once as common as the Yellow-billed Amazon, but has become much rarer due to deforestation and hurricane damage fragmenting its forest, poaching
for food and the pet trade in wild parrots.
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Sometimes called the Black-billed Parrot, this Amazon parrot
Amazon parrot
Amazon parrot is the common name for a parrot of the genus Amazona. These are medium-size parrots native to the New World ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean....
is mostly green with small patches of red on the wing and sometimes flecked on the head. Its bill makes it easy to separate from most other Amazons, including the Yellow-billed Amazon
Yellow-billed Amazon
The Yellow-billed Amazon, also called the Jamaican Amazon, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is a predominantly green parrot with a short tail and pink throat and neck...
, which also lives in Jamaica. It is the smallest Amazona parrot at 25 cm (10 in).
The Black-billed Amazon lives in mountainous rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
, usually limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rainforest, feeding on fruit, seeds, and nuts, and will take cultivated fruit like mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
s, papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
s and cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
s as well as wild fruits.
The Black-billed Amazon was once as common as the Yellow-billed Amazon, but has become much rarer due to deforestation and hurricane damage fragmenting its forest, poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
for food and the pet trade in wild parrots.