Justification This species is classified as Vulnerable because it has a small and fragmented range, with suitable habitat declining in extent, area and quality, primarily owing to logging and forest clearance for bauxite mining. Numbers are also declining because of trapping.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author (Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomic source(s) AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996)

Identification 28 cm. Chunky, green parrot with white facial markings. Green with white lores and frontal bar, blue forecrown, pink throat and upper breast, bluish primaries, and yellow bill. Similar spp. Black-billed Parrot A. agilis is smaller, duller and greener, has black bill, and flies with shallower and faster wing beats. Voice High tah-tah-eeeeep and bugling tuk-tuk-tuk-taaah in flight lower-pitched than A. agilis. Hints Birds are usually seen in pairs or small flocks, occasionally with A. agilis, and best located by call.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

10,000-19,999

decreasing

5,400 km²

Yes

Range & population Amazona collaria is mainly found in wet areas of Jamaica¹. The largest populations occur from Cockpit Country to Mount Diablo and in the John Crow Mountains³, and it is local in the Blue Mountains¹. It remains fairly common in suitable habitat, the population in Cockpit Country alone numbers 5,000 - 8,000 terretorial pairs⁵, but overall both range and population have decreased in the latter part of the 20th century³.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It inhabits mid-level, wet limestone forest at elevations up to 1,200 m, flying considerable distances to feeding areas that include sea-level plantations^1,2,3. Breeding takes place from March to August, in tree-cavities and, occasionally, rock-crevices^1,2,3.

Threats Recent declines are probably attributable to shifting cultivation, forest clearance, bauxite mining, and trapping for the cage-bird trade and local consumption^1,3. The cutting of trees to trap nestlings may significantly reduce available nest-sites^1,3. The primary cause of nest failure is poaching for use as a cage-bird, compounded by a loss of nest trees owing to illegal timber extraction in bauxite mining areas⁶. Non-native Amazona parrots occasionally escape during the hurricane season and have had to be shot to prevent hybridisation with this species⁶.

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix II. It has been listed as threatened in Jamaica since 1986³. Since 1995, there has been work to delineate its range, estimate population sizes, identify factors limiting reproductive performance and train local people in research methods and techniques for long-term monitoring¹. Habitat in the Blue and John Crow Mountains has been declared a national park, but enforcement and management are weak¹. There is an on-going, high profile public awareness campaign to prevent bauxite mining in Cockpit Country by having the area declared "closed to mining" by Minister's Discretion⁶. Discussions have initiated which will hopefully lead to the banning of the importation of psittacines to Jamaica⁶.

Conservation measures proposed Survey to delineate range and assess numbers¹. Declare Cockpit Country "closed to mining". Ensure de facto protection of the national park in the Blue and John Crow Mountains¹. Design and implement education programmes in and adjacent to the species's occupied range¹. Enforce its legal protection. Ban the import of non-native parrots.

References 1. BirdLife Jamaica Parrot Project in litt. (1998, 2000). 2. Collar (1997). 3. Juniper and Parr (1998). 4. Raffaele et al. (1998). 5. Koenig (2001). 6. S. Koenig in litt. (2007).

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Isabel Isherwood (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), David Wege (BirdLife International)

Contributors S Koenig

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Amazona collaria. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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