Orange-winged Amazon

En bref

  • Scientific Name: Amazona amazonica
  • Spanish Name: Amazona alinaranja
  • Famille : Psittacidae
  • Known Nicknames: Orange-winged Parrot, Orange-winged Amazon Parrot
  • Average Length: 30–33 cm / 12–13 in
  • Average Weight: 340–530 g / 12–19 oz
  • Wingspan: 38–43 cm / 15–17 in
  • Key Feature: Orange to yellow speculum (patch) on the outer wing, visible in flight
  • Primary Diet: Primarily Frugivore, also seeds, nuts, flowers, and bark
  • Range: Northern South America from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad south to Peru, Bolivia, and central Brazil
  • Habitat: Lowland tropical forests, gallery forests, savanna woodlands, and mangroves
  • Social Structure: Highly Social; lives in flocks, often large communal roosts
  • Nidification/Reproduction : Cavités d'arbres
  • Statut de conservation : Préoccupation mineure (LC)
  • Évolution démographique : En baisse

The Orange-winged Amazon (*Amazona amazonica*) is a vibrant, medium-sized parrot native to the tropical forests and savannas of South America, renowned for its striking contrast of colors and lively personality. Its general appearance features a bright green body with a distinct yellow crown and face, while the name-sake orange or golden-red speculum patches on the wings become brilliantly visible in flight. A unique characteristic is the blue or violet hue that often tinges the forehead and cheeks, setting it apart from similar Amazon species. Special features include a powerful, curved black beak for cracking nuts, a short square tail, and a highly social, vocal nature that makes it a popular but demanding companion, capable of mimicking speech with clear, resonant tones.

Faits amusants

Despite its name, the Orange-winged Amazon is a master of vocal mimicry in the wild, often imitating other bird calls, frogs, and even mechanical sounds like chainsaws to confuse predators or communicate in noisy environments. They have a quirky habit of “dancing” by bobbing their heads and fluffing their neck feathers when excited, a behavior often linked to pair bonding or claiming a food source. One unique adaptation is their zygodactyl feet—two toes facing forward and two back—which allow them to hang upside-down from branches to access fruits and flowers that other birds can’t reach. They also engage in “anting,” a bizarre practice where they rub ants or other insects on their feathers to secrete formic acid as a natural insecticide and feather conditioner.

Habitats et répartition

The Orange-winged Amazon inhabits a variety of lowland environments, primarily tropical and subtropical forests, including humid rainforests, gallery forests, and forest edges. It is also common in savanna woodlands, mangroves, and palm groves, and frequently adapts to human-altered landscapes such as cultivated areas, plantations, and suburban parks. Its geographical range spans northern and central South America, from eastern Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas, south through much of Brazil (excluding the far south), and into eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. The species is also introduced and established in parts of Trinidad and Tobago.

Comportements & Reproduction

These parrots are highly social, typically forming monogamous pairs within larger, noisy flocks that roost and forage together. Mating involves mutual preening and feeding, with courtship displays often including bobbing and wing-fluttering. Reproduction is seasonal, timed with the rainy season to ensure abundant food for chicks. They are cavity nesters, usually selecting hollows in large trees, and both parents share incubation duties for about 26 days. A unique strategy is their occasional use of abandoned woodpecker holes or termite mounds, and they may also nest in close proximity to other pairs if suitable sites are scarce. The clutch is typically 3-4 white eggs, and fledglings leave the nest around 8 weeks old, remaining dependent on parents for several more weeks.

Alimentation

The Orange-winged Amazon is primarily a frugivore and granivore, with a diet heavily centered on a wide variety of fruits, seeds, and nuts found in the canopy of tropical forests and woodlands. They are known to consume palm fruits, berries, and the seeds of trees like the sandbox tree (*Hura crepitans*), often foraging in noisy, large flocks. Interestingly, these parrots have a strong preference for the fruits of the *Mauritia flexuosa* palm, and they also engage in geophagy, or soil consumption, which is thought to help neutralize toxins from unripe fruits and provide essential minerals. While they are not typically nectar specialists, they have been observed drinking nectar from flowers, and in agricultural areas, they may raid crops like maize and mangoes, though this is less common than their reliance on wild foods.

Couleurs

The Orange-winged Amazon is primarily green with a yellow crown and blue cheek patches, often showing a yellow or orange wing speculum visible in flight. Its tail feathers have red and blue tips, and the bill is horn-colored. This green plumage provides excellent camouflage in dense rainforest foliage, while the bright crown and wing markings may aid in social signaling.