Puerto Rican Amazon

(Amazona vittata)

Project Status: Active | 2004, 2009 - current

Collaborators/Funders

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), Proyecto Conservación Cotorra Puertorriqueña de Rio Abajo (Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Project), US Fish and Wildlife

The world’s population of Puerto Rican Amazons is at serious risk due to deforestation and increasingly severe weather events.

Puerto Rican Amazons once occurred throughout their native island; they are now confined to 0.2% of their former range. They are affected by habitat loss, parasites, increasingly severe hurricanes and some trapping for trade.

How WPT makes an impact: The WPT has been supporting the carefully-managed breeding program at Rio Abajo aviary by backing breeding research and funding infrastructure. After a low of 13 birds in 1975, by 2017 there were more than 400 at breeding facilities and 130 wild parrots, but 70-80 wild birds were lost that year to Hurricane Maria. By September 2019 and with the recovery of the area's vegetation, there were again 128-140 wild parrots in the Río Abajo Forest. In subsequent years there have been many chicks fledging and joining the wild population. Today, thanks to intensive recovery efforts there are 200 in the wild.

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IUCN/CITES Status: Critically Endangered / Appendix I

Population: About 700 individuals, captive and wild.

Vital statistics: Size: 29 cm (11.3 in) Weight: 320 g (11.2 oz)

Range: Puerto Rico and formerly neighbouring islands of Mona and Culebra.

Natural history: Was formerly found in all vegetation types from mangrove to montane forest and dry forest to the south of Puerto Rico. Takes seeds, fruits, flowers and leaves. Breeding in the wild is from February-June in tree cavities.