Amazona farinosa is a chordate, or more specifically a bird, in the Psittacidae family.

Amazona farinosa is commonly known (its common name) as the Mealy Parrot in English.

Amazona farinosa is classified as least concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Species Authority: The species authority, or the name(s) of scientist(s) or person(s) who first described Amazona farinosa is (Boddaert, 1783) (IUCN Red List).

Summary: [an error occurred while processing this directive] (Wikipedia).

Description:

Mealy Parrots typically are 38-40 cm (14.96-15.75 inches) tall from the tip of the tail to the head and typically weigh between 540 to 700 g (19.01-24.64 ounces). Some Mealy parrots, however, are much larger than this.

Though less colorful than related parrot species, Mealy Parrots have a patch of blue, purple, or violet on the top of their heads. Along with the purple or blue crown, Mealy Parrot sometimes have patches of yellow on the head and usually have a green or mostly green body, with tail feathers being light green or lime at the tip. Some Mealy Parrots have a light blue/teal sheen to their green coat, and an undercoat of yellow, blue, purple, red, and/or teal. The beaks are usually yellowish. The eyes are a reddish-orange color, and underneath the eyes are usually white unfeathed rings.

This species is often divided into subspecies:

A.f. farinosa (Brazil, Venezuela, parts of Colombia). Red carpel edge, yellow feathers on head. A.f. inornata (Colombia, northwest South America). Few (if any) yellow feathers on head, carpel edge dull yellow. Tends to be larger and duller than A. f. farinosa. Often called "plain colored amazon" A.f. chapmani (Ecuador, southern Colombia). Similar to A.f. inornata, but larger. Taxonomists often question the validity of this subspecies, considering them to be unusually large A.f. inornata. A.f. virenticeps (Central America). Yellow carpel edge. The overall feathering tends to be more yellowish. A.f. guatemalae (Western Central America, southern Mexico). Similar to A.f. virenticeps, except sides of head and crown are blue. Often called "blue-crowned amazon." (Wikipedia).

Country Distribution: Amazona farinosa is found in the following countries:

Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela (IUCN Red List).

Biome(s)/Ecosystem(s): IUCN lists the following as biomes for Amazona farinosa: Terrestrial (IUCN Red List).

Major Habitat(s): 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist (IUCN Red List).

Range: This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 7,200,000 km. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as "common" in at least parts of its range (del Hoyo et al. 1997). Global population trends have not been quantified; there is evidence of a population decline (del Hoyo et al. 1997), but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. Note, however, that this species has been heavily traded: since 1981, when it was listed on CITES Appendix II, 49,600 wild-caught individuals have been recorded in international trade (UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database, January 2005). (IUCN Red List).

CONSERVATION STATUS

Red List Category & Criteria: Amazona farinosa is listed as LC ver 3.1 (2001) (IUCN Red List).

Year Assessed: Amazona farinosa's status was assessed in 2004 (IUCN Red List).

Assessor: Amazona farinosa's Red List status was evaluated by BirdLife International (IUCN Red List).

Red List Evaluator: The Red List Evaluator for Amazona farinosa is listed by IUCN as Ekstrom, J. & Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority) (IUCN Red List).

Red List Rational / Justification : Amazona farinosa is listed by IUCN for the following: This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 7,200,000 km. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as 'common' in at least parts of its range (del Hoyo et al. 1997). Global population trends have not been quantified; there is evidence of a population decline (del Hoyo et al. 1997), but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. (IUCN Red List).

Conservation:

Trafficking of the birds (as for exotic pets) is illegal in many nations, but the species are still smuggled into the United States from Mexico. In some areas Mealy Parrots are hunted as food. The Mealy Parrot sometimes feeds on human crops (especially corn) and may be considered a crop pest.

The Mealy Amazon is commonly bred in captivity.

(Wikipedia).

Red List History: Amazona farinosa was listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1988 (IUCN Red List).

Diet:

The diet of the Mealy Parrot consists mostly of fruits, seeds, berries, nuts, blossoms, and leaf buds.

(Wikipedia).

Reproduction:

When Mealy Parrots reach sexual maturity they usually form monogamous relationships with a single partner.

Courtship usually begins in early spring. The hen will usually lay three eggs, which she incubates for 28 days. The male will eat for both himself and the female during the incubation period. He will regurgitate the food for the female to eat. The young usually leave the nest at around eight weeks of age.

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The Mealy Parrot is social and can be found in pairs or in large flocks. They are even known to interact with other parrots, such as macaws. They are usually quiet but can be loud at dusk and dawn.

(Wikipedia).

Data Sources for IUCN data: The following is a list of citations from the IUCN web site for Amazona farinosa:

Citations listed by IUCN

Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places:
For References from A–L.
For References from M–Z.

BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.

BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

(IUCN Red List).

Links: IUCN Red List Profile for Amazona farinosa (IUCN Red List).

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