Geographic Range
Blue-fronted Amazons (
Amazona aestiva
) are dispersed throughout Amazonia of South America. They frequently occur in major
regions of northeastern Brazil, forests of Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.
Blue-fronted Amazons are no longer found in some areas of southern Argentina. Their
populations have diminished recently due to deforestation, and frequent capture for
the pet trade.
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
Habitat
Blue-fronted Amazons nest in trees of varying dimensions. Their nests are located
in all main flora environments of the Amazon, such as all types of savannas, riparian
woodlands, grasslands, and floodplains. In the Patanal of Mato Grosso do Sul state,
Brazil, a study for blue-fronted Amazons concluded that they preferred nesting sites
located in disturbed and vastly open areas. They have been found to inhabit elevations
of up to 887 m.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
- Aquatic Biomes
- coastal
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
Physical Description
Blue-fronted Amazons are sexually monomorphic to the human eye. The human eye is trichromatic and isn’t capable of viewing light in the near-ultraviolet (UV) range. The avian eye is tetrachromatic, able to view a much more diverse range of colors than humans. The use of spectrometry allows humans to view blue-fronted Amazons and various other avian group’s as sexually dimorphic due to their UV reflecting plumage.
Their entire body is mostly composed of vibrant green plumage. Bright blue feathers
are located on their crown and yellow wraps around its face and on the tip of their
scapulars. Their beaks are mostly black, and juveniles are considerably duller in
color and have black irises. The distribution of yellow and blue varies for each bird,
but red markings are mostly found on varying places on the wings. Individuals weigh
between 275 and 500 g and range from 33 to 38 cm in length.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Blue-fronted Amazons are monogamous, and live in pairs, while continuously interacting
with the flock. During breeding season, the mated pairs stay close together while
roosting and foraging. Little information could be found on reproductive displays
and behavior.
- Mating System
- monogamous
The breeding period for blue-fronted Amazons is August through September. During this
period they lay between 1 and 6 eggs, usually averaging 2 to 3 eggs per clutch during
each breeding season. Eggs are incubated for 30 days, and hatching generally occurs
between September and October. Chicks weigh between 12 and 22 g when first hatched.
Nestlings are fully fledged in November through December, approximately 56 days after
hatching. It usually takes about 9 weeks for the chicks to reach independence, and
both sexes reach sexual maturity around 2 to 4 years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Blue-fronted Amazons are secondary carvers, where they do not create their own cavities,
but occupy previously used nesting sites. They tend to nest in live trees of varying
species depending on which habitat they occupy. Most of their nests are found in open
areas that are near roosting sites and water sources. The female lays an average of
2 to 3 eggs, and incubates them for roughly a month. Since the chicks are altricial,
they require constant care from the parents, and are fed via regurgitation.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- male parental care
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Blue-fronted Amazons are expected to live up to 70 years in captivity.
Behavior
Blue-fronted Amazons are monogamous, social birds that stick close to their flock
year-round. They are non-migratory birds that may occasionally make local migrations
to areas with more abundant resources. They forage in flocks during the non-breeding
season, and in mated pairs while breeding. They are diurnal birds, so during the night
they roost together in tree-top canopies until morning when they begin to forage.
They blend into their surroundings when arboreal, and can only be recognized when
they produce their high-pitched calls.
Home Range
The home range for blue-fronted Amazons is somewhat larger than its immediate territory
surrounding their nesting sites during breeding season. Their home range depends on
the abundance of food available to them.
Communication and Perception
The ultraviolet (UV) light reflectance of blue-fronted Amazons' plumage may actually aid in their sexual communication, mate selection, and courting displays.
Nine different vocalizations have been identified for blue-fronted Amazons. Of the nine, six calls are used under various situations such as feeding, flying, contact, and distress. These calls are, “wak-wak”, “wa-wawawa”, transitions, “gugugu”, guturals, and “ka-kaka”. The last three identified calls are used for specific situations. “Waahh” is vocalized in times of aggression, or defense, “grr-uip” during in-flight contact, and songs vocalized for territorial and reproductive circumstances.
Their main call is “wak-wak” and is used all year. It is uttered in sequences, but with no consistent pattern. They use it during lone or group flights, takeoff or landing, distress brought on by intruders, and long or short communication calls with other parrots. The usual distress calls differ during their breeding season. Mating pairs will stay perched, while calling, and calmly fly away from trespassers.
The vocalization, “wa-wawawa” is used all year, but less than the "wak-wak", and the note length for this call is held longer. It is used for lone or group flights, roosting, contact, and landings.
“Gu-gugu” is mostly used nearing the end of the breeding season in March and during the non-breeding season in May. It has a varying length, with a low-pitched warble, where energy is most concentrated at the peak of warbling. This vocalization is mostly heard when a flock of four or more are in flight or seen roosting.
“Ka-kaka” is only used during non-breeding season. It is made up of a series of around 15 notes, where all maintain a diverse frequency range and diminutive length. It’s used during foraging, and when displaying consistent calls among large flocks in thick woodlands.
“Waahh” is vocalized during March and August, and is usually harsh with a ranging bandwidth. It’s used in times of defense and threat. Aggressive interactions may occur with ten or more parrots present among the trees. Typically, a parrot would swing its head towards another perched behind it, present its wings, and utter a single "waahh". If interaction increased, vocalization and length of call increased.
“Grr-uip” is used in post-breeding and non-breeding seasons. This call is more multifaceted, with up to three parts. It relates to their flight movements, which qualifies specific dexterity.
The gutural is a frequent year round call, which varies in length, concentration, and bandwidth. It’s vocalized during distress, contact, flight, takeoff, and among roosting flocks and is usually associated with other vocalizations.
Songs are commonly linked with a specific sequence and involve a pattern of varying notes in a long series.
Like many Amazons, blue-fronted Amazons likely exhibit forms of tactile communication
as well. Many Amazon pairs use allopreening, beak touching, or beak holding to establish
or reinforce the pair-bond. Like all birds, blue-fronted Amazons perceive their environment
through visual, tactile, auditory and chemical stimuli.
- Other Communication Modes
- mimicry
Food Habits
Blue-fronted parrots primarily eat native seeds, fruits, nuts, leaf sprouts, and flowers
from the Amazon. They are widely known for being a crop pest, particularly to citrus
crops. When they’re not breeding, they leave roosting sites in flocks during the morning
to feed and return in the afternoon. During breeding season, mated pairs forage together.
They use their feet to handle food, and use their beak and tongue for seed or grain
extraction.
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
- flowers
Predation
Poaching by humans plays a key role in the frequent absence and over-exploitation
of blue-fronted Amazons in the wild. Since they mainly roost in tree canopies, their
cryptic color reduces predator detection. There is scarce information on the predation
of blue-fronted Amazons, but it is known that falcons, hawks and owls tend to prey
upon numerous species of parrots from the Amazon.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
Blue-fronted Amazons consume various indigenous fruits, seeds, nuts, leaf sprouts,
and flowers. Their foraging behaviors aid in seed dispersal through defecation and
food transportation.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Blue-fronted Amazons are captured and sold locally and internationally through the
live pet-trade market. This type of Amazon parrot is the most vital species to the
Isoseño-Guaranà tribe of Bolivia, who rely on capturing this Amazon for profit. These
intelligent birds are also kept as pets, and some are even used to attract wild parrots
within a slingshot range for capture.
- Positive Impacts
- pet trade
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
This species of Amazon, along with almost all Amazon parrots, are known as crop pests.
Blue-fronted Amazons tend to attack citrus crops and various other cultivated fruits
and seeds. Many farmers destroy the birds to save their crops.
- Negative Impacts
- crop pest
Conservation Status
Blue-fronted parrots are listed as "least concern" by the IUCN Red List because of
their large habitat range and decent population size. However, their population size
is decreasing which may warrant a "vulnerable" status in the future. For almost all
species of Amazona parrots, degradation of habitat is of highest concern. Blue-fronted
Amazons are secondary cavity-nesters, and rely on mature trees for nesting. Logging
and landscaping of their habitat diminishes potential nesting sites. Blue-fronted
Amazons are protected under CITES II to regulate the capture and trade of these birds.
Additional Links
Contributors
Kaila Huhtasaari (author), Northern Michigan University, Alec Lindsay (editor), Northern Michigan University, Rachelle Sterling (editor), Special Projects.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- mimicry
-
imitates a communication signal or appearance of another kind of organism
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- pet trade
-
the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
References
Aquino, R., I. Ferrari. 1990. Chromosome study of Amazona amazonica and A. aestiva (Aves: Psittaciformes): determination of chromosome number and identification of sex chromosomes by C-banding methods.. Genetica , 81: 1-3. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.springerlink.com/content/t65217450h800v85/ .
Costantini, D., L. Racheli, D. Cavallo, G. Dell’Omo. 2008. Genome size variation in parrots: longevity and flying ability.. J. Avian Biol. , 39: 453-459. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.davidcostantini.it/JAvianBiol2008.pdf .
Deem, S., A. Noss, R. Cuéllar, W. Karesh. 2005. Monitoring an export moratorium of the blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) in Salta Province, Argentina.. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine , 36: 598-605. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1638/04094.1?prevSearch= .
Fernandes Seixas, G., G. de Miranda Mourao. 2002. Nesting Success and Hatching Survival of Blue-Fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Journal of Field Ornithology , Vol 73: 399-409. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4131166 .
Fernández-Juricic, E., M. Martella, E. Alvarez. 1998. Vocalizations of the Blue-Fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) in the Chancanà Reserve, Córdoba, Argentina.. The Wilson Bulletin , 110: 352-361. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4163959 .
Fernández-Juricic, E., M. Martella. 2000. Guttural Calls of Blue-Fronted Amazons: Structure, Context, and Their Possible Role in Short Range Communication.. The Wilson Bulletin , 112: 35-43. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4164167 .
Leite, K., G. Seixas, I. Berkunsky, R. Collevatti, R. Caparroz. 2008. Population genetic structure of the blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva, Psittacidae: Aves) based on nuclear microsatellite loci: implications for conservation. Genetics and Molecular Research , 7 (3): 819-829.
Russello, M., A. Amato. 2004. A molecular phylogeny of Amazona: implications for Neotropical parrot biogeography, taxonomy, and conservation.. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 30: 421-437. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WNH-491C06V-3&_user=972151&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000049654&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=972151&md5=887ac5f7b7953567b7363ac10d60c087 .
Santos, S., L. De Neve, J. Lumeij, M. Förschler. 2007. Strong effects of various incidence and observation angles on spectrometric assessment of plumage colouration in birds.. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , 61: 1499-1506. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.springerlink.com/content/7ju66j1t36125285/?p=ad7099e2023d45529302723948f3022c&pi=1 .
Santos, S., B. Elward, J. Lumeij. 2006. Sexual Dichromatism in the Blue-Fronted Amazon Parrot (Amazona aestiva) Revealed by Multiple-Angle Spectrometry. Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery , Vol. 20: 8-14. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236514 .
Vendramin-Gallo, M., C. Pessutti, A. Pezzato, M. Vicentini-Paulino. 2001. Effect of Age on Seed Digestion in Parrots (Amazona aestiva).. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology , 74: 398-403. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/30158718?&Search=yes&term=aestiva&term=Amazona&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DAmazona%2Baestiva%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26wc%3Don&item=18&ttl=237&returnArticleService=showArticle .
White, Jr., T., W. Abreu-Gonzalez, M. Toledo-Gonzalez, P. Torres-Baez. 2005. Artificial Nest Cavities for Amazona Parrots.. Wildlife Society Bulletin , 33: 756-760. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3785107?&Search=yes&term=aestiva&term=Amazona&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DAmazona%2Baestiva%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26wc%3Don&item=11&ttl=237&returnArticleService=showArticle .
de Freitas Raso, T., S. Godoy, L. Milanelo, C. de Souza, E. Matuschima, J. AraĂşjo, Jr., A. Pinto. 2004. An Outbreak of Chlamydiosis in Captive Blue-Fronted Amazon Parrots (Amazona aestiva) in Brazil.. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine , Vol. 35: 94-96. Accessed January 21, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/20460364 .