Species

Justification
Habitat conservation, law enforcement and public awareness campaigns have halted this species's slide towards extinction, and even reversed some of the previous declines. However, it still qualifies as Vulnerable because it has a very small population and range on a single island.

Taxonomic source(s)
AOU. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.
Stotz, D. F.; Fitzpatrick, J. W.; Parker, T. A.; Moskovits, D. K. 1996. Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Identification
40 cm. Polymorphic parrot. More common yellow-brown morph has white head shading to yellow on hind crown. Bluish postocular patch. Grey scaled nape, and bronze scaled upperparts and breast, becoming greenish on vent. Orange-and-red wing-coverts. Black primaries with yellow bases. Dark blue secondaries with orange bases. Dark blue tail with orange base and yellow terminal band. Green morph is duller and lacks orange, greenish upperparts and bluish encircling face. Immature duller. Similar spp. Only parrot on St Vincent. Voice Noisy with variety of calls including, yapping, honking, shrieking, bubbling and squawking.

Distribution and population
Amazona guildingii occurs on the upper west and east ridges of St Vincent (St Vincent and the Grenadines), where it declined seriously through the 20th century until the early 1980s. Following recent conservation action, numbers increased from 370-470 individuals in 1982 to approximately 519 in 2002, and then to c.734 in 2004 (Greenwood 1994, Culzac-Wilson et al. 2003, Wege D. in litt. 2005).

Population justification
Greenwood (1994)

Trend justification
Numbers of this species continue to steadily increase (Culzac-Wilson 2005).

Ecology
It inhabits moist forest, mainly at 125-1,000 m, preferring mature growth at lower altitude. It feeds in the canopy, on a wide variety of fruits, seeds and flowers (Raffaele et al. 1998), but sometimes forages in partially cultivated areas. Breeding takes place between January and June, peaking in February-May, in loose aggregations of approximately 12 individuals, each defending its own nest site but tolerating the close proximity of nearby pairs (Culzac-Wilson 2005). During wetter years, birds may not attempt to breed (Culzac-Wilson 2005). Nests are generally in cavities in mature, large trees (Juniper and Parr 1998).

Threats
Hunting for food, trapping for the cage-bird trade and habitat loss were the principal causes of this species's decline. Deforestation has been the result of forestry activities, the expansion of banana cultivation, charcoal production, the loss of nesting-trees felled by trappers seeking young birds for trade, and natural events such as hurricanes and volcanic eruptions (Snyder et al. 2000). The introduced nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus undermines large trees causing them to topple, reducing the number of suitable nest trees (Culzac-Wilson 2005). A cross-country road is planned, funded by the Taiwanese government, which would destroy large areas of suitable habitat and increase deforestation rates (Culzac-Wilson et al. 2003). The genetic isolation of the separate subpopulations may present further cause for concern.

Conservation actions underway
CITES Appendix I and II. Domestic legislation protecting the species is enforced. The St Vincent Parrot Reserve was established to protect all occupied habitat (Juniper and Parr 1998). Successful public education campaigns have apparently improved public perceptions of the species and, combined with the above measures, have reversed some of the previous declines. Captive populations exist in St Vincent and Barbados (Woolcock 2000, Sweeney 2001). A comprehensive species conservation plan was published in 2005 (Culzac-Wilson 2005).

Conservation actions proposed
Continue to monitor the population. Continue and enhance existing protective measures. Study the reproductive success, movement patterns and habitat requirements of this species (Snyder et al. 2000). Oppose plans for the cross-country road and propose a better option. Implement the species conservation plan.

References
Collar, N. J.; Gonzaga, L. P.; Krabbe, N.; Madroño Nieto, A.; Naranjo, L. G.; Parker, T. A.; Wege, D. C. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas: the ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, U.K.

Greenwood, A. G. 1994. St Vincent Parrot Programme: report to World Parrot Trust and the St Vincent Parrot Consortium, May 1994.

Juniper, T.; Parr, M. 1998. Parrots: a guide to the parrots of the world. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK.

Raffaele, H.; Wiley, J.; Garrido, O.; Keith, A.; Raffaele, J. 1998. Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London.

Snyder, N.; McGowan, P.; Gilardi, J.; Grajal, A. 2000. Parrots: status survey and conservation action plan 2000-2004. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Woolcock, D. 2000. Saint Vincent Parrot Consortium meeting report. PsittaScene 12: 13.

Sweeney, R. G. 2001. Development of a management plan for a captive population of St. Vincent Amazon Parrots in Barbados. International Zoo News 48: 430-436.

Culzac-Wilson, L.; Glasgow, A.; Lockhart, A.; Springer, F.; Wilson, A. 2003. The Amazon guildingii: conservation status and future survival. International Aviculturalists Society.

Further web sources of information
Conservation Plan

Detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 1992). Please note, taxonomic treatment and IUCN Red List category may have changed since publication.

Hear sounds for this species from xeno-canto, the community database of shared bird sounds from around the world.

Recuento detallado de la especie tomado del libro Aves Amenazadas de las Americas, Libro Rojo de BirdLife International (BirdLife International 1992). Nota: la taxonomoa y la categora de la Lista Roja de la UICN pudo haber cambiado desde esta publicacin.

View photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Benstead, P., Isherwood, I., Mahood, S., Sharpe, C J, Wege, D.

Contributors
Wege, D.

IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Amazona guildingii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013.

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.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Additional resources for this species

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