Amazona vittata (Puerto Rican Amazon)
(Boddaert, 1783)
Identification: 30 cm. Green parrot with red forecrown, white eye-ring and blue two-toned
primaries. Similar spp. Introduced Hispaniolan Parrot A. ventralis has white forehead,
maroon belly and blue in wing extends on to secondaries. Red-crowned Parrot A. viridigenalis
has more extensive red on crown and red-orange wing-patch, but is very local around the
coast and unlikely to occur sympatrically. Voice Noisy. Wide variety of squawks and
screeches. Bugling flight call.
Taxonomic source
AOU checklist (1998 + supplements)
Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)
Stotz et al. (1996)
Category: CR
CR: D1
EN:
VU: D2
Threat justification: This species has (at least temporarily) been saved from extinction.
Conservation action has increased the population since 1975, but it is still Critically
Endangered because numbers remain tiny.
Questions for reviewers
What has been the outcome of the 2006 releases - has a second population been established?
Are mammalian predators now controlled?
Population details (Note: zeros may equate to 'unset')
Year of estimate: 2004
Popn: 30 - 35
Popn band: unset
Data quality: good
Data derivation: observed
Sub-population no.: 0
Sub-population band: 1
Mature individuals in 1 sub-population: 100%
Largest sub-population: 0
Largest sub-poulation band: unset
Population justification: T. White in litt. (2005).
Population trend details (Note: zeros may equate to 'unset')
Trend period: 1998 - 2008
Trend: stable
Data quality: good
Data derivation: estimated (directly)
Fluctuation: some (<10 fold)
Decline (10 years/3 generations past): 0 or Estimate: 1-19
Decline (10 years/3 generations future): 0 or Estimate: unset
Decline (10 years/3 generations past+future): 0 or Estimate: unset
Trend justification: Based on regular counts of the total wild population.
Range details (Note: zeros may equate to 'unset')
Year: 2000
EOO (br/res): 160
EOO (non-br): 0
Data quality:
medium
Year: 2000
AOO (br/res): 16
AOO (non-br): 0
Data quality: good
Number of locations: 0
Locations band: single location
Fragmentation: unset
Taxonomy:
Population and Range: Amazona vittata is endemic to Puerto Rico (to USA), and once
occurred throughout the forested parts of the island. An endemic subspecies on Culebra
became extinct in 1912. There has been a drastic decline, which reduced the population to
c.2,000 by the 1930s and an all-time low of 13 birds in 1975. It has been confined to the
Luquillo Mountains since the 1960s, and the present occupied range of 16 km2 represents
only 0.2% of its former distribution4. Conservation action has prevented the species's
extinction, although recovery has been slow and the population remains tiny. In 1989,
Hurricane Hugo cut the wild population from 47 to about 23. By the beginning of 1992, there
were a minimum of 22-23 parrots in the wild and 58 in captivity, with a record fledging
success in July 1992 taking the wild total to 39 or 40. In 2000 the parrot numbered 40 wild
birds, plus 9 recently re-introduced birds and 100 in captivity (in two aviaries)6. In 2001,
thieves broke into an aviary and stole a number of captive adults. In 2004, the wild population
was 30-35 individuals7, and the long-term trend appears to be stable albeit with some
fluctuations. In 2006 20 birds were released in the Rio Abajo State Forest marking the
beginning of a second population in the wild13.
Country distribution
Puerto Rico (to USA)
Extinct
no
Occur status
N
Res.
yes
Br.
yes
Non-Br.
no
Passage
no
Ecology: Historically, it occurred in montane and lowland forest, and mangroves. It is now
restricted to forest at elevations of 200-600 m. The breeding season is late February-July,
when it nests in large, deep tree-cavities and lays 3-4 eggs3,7. Since 2001 all known nesting in
the wild has occurred in artificial cavities11.
Altitude: 200 - 600 (Note: zeros may equate to 'unset')
Habitat
Forest
Forest
Forest
Type
Subtropical/tropical mangrove
Subtropical/tropical montane moist forest
Subtropical/tropical lowland moist forest
Season
unknown
unknown
resident
Tolerance
unknown
unknown
low
Importance
unknown
unknown
critical
Threats: There has been an almost total loss of suitable forest habitat. Hunting for food and
pest control, and the cage-bird trade have had crippling effects. The principal threats are now
competition for nest-sites, loss of young to parasitic botflies, predation and natural disasters
such as hurricanes3,7. Red-tailed Hawks Buteo jamaicensis predate parrots and hamper
releases of captive-bred individuals9. Predator-aversion training pre-release has improved the
survival of captive-reared birds after release into the wild9; nevertheless raptor predation
claimed 21% of all released individuals between 2000 and 2002. Predation by alien invasive
mammals is also having a serious impact upon productivity, with six fledglings taken by
Small Indian Mongooses Herpestes javanicus and one nest-failure from Black Rats Rattus
rattus during 2000-200312.
Threat
habitat loss/degradation (unspecified cause)
Cause
unknown causes (deforestation)
changes in native species dynamics
invasive alien species (directly affecting the
species)
natural disasters
hunting
predators
predators
hunting
cage birds (regional/international trade)
storms/flooding
food (subsistence use/local trade)
Timing
past (no direct
affect but
limiting)
continuing
continuing
Scope
whole
Severity
no decline
Impact
low
majority
majority
slow decline
slow decline
medium
medium
continuing
past (and
unlikely to
return)
past (and
unlikely to
return)
whole
whole
no decline
rapid decline
medium
past
whole
rapid decline
past
Action: CITES Appendix I and II. Major intervention to preserve this species began in 1968,
involving provision of highly successful artificial nest-sites, control of nest predators and
competitors, and captive breeding and reintroduction. The success of newly fledged parrots is
monitored using radio-telemetry1. All remaining habitat is protected in the Caribbean National
Forest5. The population is monitored to help inform management decisions. Trapping of
exotic mammalian predators has been shown to be a highly cost-effective way of conserving
Puerto Rican Parrots12.
Targets: •Maintain the integrated conservation management programme. •Improve
synchronisation of breeding of wild and captive birds to increase the number of captivebred chicks that can be fostered by wild parents10. •Integrate exotic predator trapping
into the existing conservation management programme.
References: Collar et al. (1992). 1. Meyers (1996). 2. Meyers et al. (1993). 3. Raffaele et al.
(1998). 4. Snyder et al. (1987). 5. Snyder et al. (2000). 6. Davis (2000). 7. Arendt (2000). 8.
T. White in litt. (2005). 9. White et al. (2005). 10. Thompson (2004). 11. White et al. (2006).
12. Engeman et al. (2006). 13. Velez-Valentin and Boyd (2006).
Contributors
A. White (unset)
Red List evaluators
Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International)
Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International)