The yellow-crowned amazon or yellow-crowned parrot is a species of parrot native to tropical South America, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. The taxonomy is highly complex and the yellow-headed and yellow-naped amazon are sometimes considered subspecies of the yellow-crowned amazon. Except in the taxonomic section, the following deals only with the nominate group .They are found in the Amazon basin.
Region
Amazon Basin and northern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs widely from Panama through northern South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, much of the Amazon Basin of Brazil, eastern Ecuador and Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago. It favors humid lowland forests, gallery forests, and forest edges. It also uses secondary growth, palm groves, and mosaic agricultural landscapes. Birds often roost in tall riverside trees and may venture into urban parks where suitable trees and food are available.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
This medium-sized amazon parrot is part of a complex with the yellow-headed and yellow-naped amazons, which some authorities once treated as subspecies. It is intelligent, long-lived, and often kept as a pet, though it is not domesticated and can be loud and strong-willed. In the wild it forms noisy flocks and regularly visits riverine clay licks, likely to neutralize plant toxins.
A. o. ochrocephala
Pet parrot
Temperament
social and noisy
Flight Pattern
strong flier with rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small to medium flocks, sometimes gathering in larger numbers at roosts or feeding sites. Forms long-term pair bonds and nests in tree cavities. Clutch size is typically 2–4 eggs, and both parents attend the young. Outside the breeding season, it is highly gregarious and mobile within its home range.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are loud and carry far, consisting of harsh squawks, braying calls, and sharp screeches. At close range, birds also give rich whistles and chattering notes, especially at roosts and when in flight.
Plumage
Predominantly bright green with a distinctive yellow crown; feathers often edged darker, giving a slightly scalloped look. Flight feathers show blue tones and there is typically a red patch on the wing bend. The tail is green with some yellowish edges.
Diet
Feeds on a variety of fruits, seeds, nuts, and berries, including many palm fruits. Also takes flower buds and blossoms and may consume leaf buds. It commonly visits mineral-rich clay licks to ingest soil, which may aid digestion and toxin buffering. In some areas it raids crops such as citrus or maize.
Preferred Environment
Forages mostly in the canopy and at forest edges, often moving between fruiting trees. Will also feed in secondary growth, along rivers, and in scattered trees within agricultural landscapes. Clay banks along rivers are visited regularly in some regions.
