Tag Archives: Amazona vittata

Amazona vittata ssp. ‘Barbuda’

Barbuda Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp.)

This form is known from a nearly complete rostrum found in 1962 in the deposits of a precultural cave site on the island of Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda.

The specimen agrees with the the rostrum of a modern Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)), which formerly might have been far more widespead than it was in historical times, let alone today. [1]

*********************

References:

[1] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

*********************

edited: 13.02.2020

Amazona vittata ssp. ‘Vieques’

Vieques Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp.)

The Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)) is a very rare parrot species that is now restricted to the island of Puerto Rico in the Lesser Antilles, at least one subspecies formerly occurred on the offshore island of Culebra.

The same form, or perhaps another endemic one occurred on the nearby island of Vieques, this form, however, is only known by reliable accounts like the following one.:

“Parrots are found during the rainy season in the months of June, July and August in the heavy forest of the southern side of the island. It is believed that they cross at that season from Porto Rico. Señor José Bartôn was well acquainted with them and told me that they were considered a game bird, making a highly desirable dish for the table. There were none here during the period of my visit.” [1]

The Vieques Amazon, if it indeed was a distinct form, disappeared sometimes after this account, the reasons are clearly mentioned in the account.

*********************

References:

[1] Alexander Wetmore: The birds of Vieques Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 33: 403-419. 1916

*********************

edited: 16.02.2020

Amazona vittata ssp. gracilipes Ridgeway

Culebra Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp. gracilipes)

The Culebra Amazon is an extinct subspecies of the Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)) (see photo below) that was formerly found on the smaller island of Culebra offshore the east coast of Puerto Rico in the middle of the Greater Antilles.

This form was described in 1915 and differed from the nominate apparently by its smaller size and its smaller and more slender feet (?). It is known from only three specimens, a female and two males, which were collected in 1899.:

“Formerly parrots were common on Culebra Island but now they are supposed to be extinct. Their destruction is due to the fact that they were considered a table delicacy and were hunted continually. When common they were said to do considerable injury in the plantations of bananas and plantains. Two specimens in the National Museum were collected by a. B. Baker on February 11 and 12, 1899. Another bears merely the date 1899.” [1]

The Culebra Amazon was never recorded again after the collection of the three specimens and is now extinct, the nominate race is likewise very rare and almost extinct in the wild. 

*********************

References:

[1] Alexander Wetmore: The birds of Culebra Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 34: 51-62. 1917

*********************

Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata)

Photo: Tom MacKenzie

(under creative commons license (2.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

*********************

edited: 12.02.2020