Mealy parrots can be very noisy, with a variety of different calls, including chattering, squawking, and whistling. The calls can be heard at a distance, as their voice usually has a deeper tone than that of other Amazona parrots.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Mealy parrots are not currently identified as a species in crisis. They do not meet the criteria for a population decline, meaning a thirty percent loss of the population in ten years or three generations, as defined by the IUCN Red List. They are considered a species of least concern. This, however, does not suggest that the species is completely free from danger. Both the large amount of trading and the loss of habitat from deforestation have a significant impact on population declines of mealy parrots in certain areas.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Mealy parrots may eat crops occasionally, including corn crops.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Of special interest to the international live exotic bird trade, mealy parrots are most commonly taken into captivity and sold as pets. In some areas, they are also hunted for food, due to their relatively large size.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food
Although their importance to the environment has not been extensively researched, mealy parrots are speculated to play a role in seed dispersal as well as act as a pollinator of the flowers they feed on.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; pollinates
Mealy parrots feed mostly on plant parts, including seeds, fruits, nuts, blossoms, and leaf buds.
Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers
Primary Diet: herbivore (Frugivore , Granivore )
Mealy parrots are found in Mexico and Central and South America, occupying a wide range from southern Mexico to northern Bolivia and southern Brazil. They are most common in Costa Rica and Panama, particularly on the Caribbean coast.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Mealy parrots inhabit dense, humid lowland rainforests near clearings but also populate wooded areas in savannas.
Range elevation: 290 to 1,200 m.
Average elevation: 688 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Mealy parrots in captivity is typically between 50 and 100 years. Information on lifespan of mealy parrots in the wild is unavailable.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 50 to 100 years.
One of the largest of the Amazon parrots, mealy parrots measure approximately 38 to 40 cm in length and have an average weight of 540 to 700g. They are considerably less vibrant than other closely related parrots. Mealy parrots are mainly green with a crown of blue and violet feathers on the head, as well as a powdery appearance given by the dull, bluish feathers on the head, neck, and shoulders. A few spots of red, yellow, or blue can be seen on the feathers underneath the wings, which are mainly dull green with lighter green tips. Around each eye is a white, featherless ring. The iris is a reddish-orange color. The beak is a gray, brown color. One way to discern mealy parrots from other Amazona species is the tail, which consists of two distinct tones: green and yellowish green. The feet are a grayish color. Males and females are monomorphic. A distinguishing feature between adults and juveniles is a brown iris in juveniles.
Range mass: 540 to 700 g.
Range length: 38 to 40 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Mealy parrots are prey to various predators, such as hawks and monkeys. Snakes may steal eggs or young offspring.
Known Predators:
Mating occurs once a year and normally begins in the spring. Once sexually mature, mealy parrots will choose one partner for life.
Mating System: monogamous
Breeding normally ranges from November to March. Nesting takes place in the tree-cavity. Female parrots usually lay one clutch per year of three eggs. Eggs are incubated for about four weeks, after hatching male parrots assist females in raising the young by regurgitating food for the female to eat. The offspring are ready to leave the nest after a period of about eight weeks.
Breeding interval: Mealy parrots breed for a span of a few months once a year.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs from November to March.
Average eggs per season: 3.
Average time to hatching: 4 weeks.
Average time to independence: 2 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 4 to 5 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 4 to 5 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
During the incubation period, the male parrot will assist the female by regurgitating food for the female to eat. The female will protect and feed the hatched offspring until they are ready to leave the nest.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Male, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Female)
The southern mealy amazon or southern mealy parrot (Amazona farinosa) is among the largest parrots in the genus Amazona, the amazon parrots. It is a mainly green parrot with a total length of 38–41 cm (15–16 in). It is native to tropical Central and South America. This species and the northern mealy amazon (Amazona guatemalae) were previously considered conspecific. Some taxonomic authorities (including the American Ornithological Society), continue to lump them together.
The southern mealy amazon was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana.[2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.[3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Psittacus farinosus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées.[4] The southern mealy amazon is now placed in the large Neotropical genus Amazona that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1830.[5][6] The species is monotypic.[6] The specific epithet farinosa is from the Latin farinosus meaning "sprinkled with flour".[7]
The southern mealy amazon has a total length of about 38–41 cm (15–16 in)[8][9] and weighs 540–700 g (19–25 oz). Captives commonly are heavier. It is among the largest parrots in the Americas, mainly being surpassed by the large macaws. It has a relatively short and square shaped tail, as do the other members of the Amazona genus.
The southern mealy amazon is mainly green. The back and nape often have a whitish tinge; almost as if it had been covered in a thin layer of flour ("meal"; hence its name). The distal half of the tail is paler and more yellow than the basal half, thus resulting in a distinctly bi-colored look. In flight it shows a bluish-black trailing edge to the wing and a conspicuous red speculum. Occasionally a few yellow feathers are apparent on the top of the head.
In South America, it is commonly confused with the yellow-crowned amazon, but can be recognized by its larger size, less yellow to the crown (not entirely reliable, as some yellow-crowned may show almost none), the whitish tinge to its plumage, broader white eye-ring, and red of the leading edge of the wing placed near the phalanx (not near the radiale), but this is often difficult to see (especially on perched birds). Their voices are also strikingly different.
The southern mealy amazon was formerly considered conspecific with the northern mealy amazon. The species were split based on the results of a genetic study published in 2012.[6][10]
The southern mealy amazon occurs in tropical Central America and South America. It frequents humid to semi-humid forest (only rarely in deciduous forest) and plantations. In regions dominated by open/dry habitats it is restricted to gallery forest or completely absent.
The southern mealy amazon 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. In captivity, they are known as one of the gentlest and calmest of all amazons.
After southern mealy amazons reach sexual maturity they usually form monogamous relationships with a single partner. Each year courtship usually begins in early spring, and the female will usually lay three or four white eggs in a tree-cavity nest. The female incubates the eggs for about 26 days. The male regurgitates food for the female during the incubation period, and later for the chicks in the nest as well. The chicks leave the nest about 60 days after hatching.[11]
The diet of the mealy amazon consists mostly of fruits, seeds, berries, nuts, blossoms, and leaf buds.
It is fairly common in most of its range, but has declined locally due to habitat loss and trapping for the wild parrot trade. 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 southern mealy amazons are hunted as food. The southern mealy amazon sometimes feeds on human crops (especially corn) and may be considered a crop pest.
The mealy amazon is bred in captivity with some regularity.
The southern mealy amazon or southern mealy parrot (Amazona farinosa) is among the largest parrots in the genus Amazona, the amazon parrots. It is a mainly green parrot with a total length of 38–41 cm (15–16 in). It is native to tropical Central and South America. This species and the northern mealy amazon (Amazona guatemalae) were previously considered conspecific. Some taxonomic authorities (including the American Ornithological Society), continue to lump them together.
