Blue-fronted Parrot

About the Blue-fronted Parrot

The blue-fronted amazon (Amazona aestiva), also called the blue-fronted parrot, the turquoise-fronted amazon and the turquoise-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in captivity as a pet or companion parrot. Its common name is derived from the distinctive blue/turquoise marking on its head just above its beak.

The blue-fronted amazon was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its specific epithet is the feminine form of the Latin adjective aestivus, "of the summer". Two subspecies are recognized:

A. a. aestiva (nominate) is found in eastern Brazil. The leading edge of the wing ("shoulder") is red. A. a. xanthopteryx occurs from northern and eastern Bolivia through adjacent parts of Brazil, to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The "shoulder" is partly or wholly yellow. Generally with more yellow to the head than nominate.

The taxon xanthopteryx has been treated as a separate species, but the two subspecies interbreed freely where they come into contact. Additionally, there are significant individual variations in both facial... Wikipedia →