Birdfinding.info ⇒ Widely distributed but uncommon across most of Jamaica. It can usually be found in Cockpit Country at Stewart Town, Windsor, and Barbecue Bottom / Burnt Hill Road, and along Ecclesdown Road. Members of the urban flock in Kingston can often be found at Hope Gardens, which is the best place for close observation of the species. Also found regularly in several coastal resort areas, including Negril, Runaway Bay, Ocho Rios, and San San.
Yellow-billed Parrot
Amazona collaria
Endemic to Jamaica, where it occurs nearly throughout the western and north-central areas, and locally in the east. Wanderers may appear sporadically anywhere on the island.
A small population that has long inhabited eastern Kingston is suspected to be descended from both wild and feral birds.
Identification
Recognized by its pale yellow bill, bold white eyering and colorful head and tail—all of which distinguish it from Jamaica’s other parrot, the Black-billed.
If seen clearly, its head and neck show complex color pattern: a scaled pattern on the neck, dusky or bluish ear-patch, powder blue cheek, white forehead, deep blue forecrown, and rosy or magenta throat. There is significant individual variation in the vividness of these colors.
When seen in flight, the uppersides of its flight feathers and primary coverts appear mostly turquoise—paler and more extensively blue than on Black-billed.
Yellow-billed Parrot, an especially colorful individual. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; February 17, 2018.) © Dubi Shapiro
Yellow-billed Parrot. (Stanmore Grove, Jamaica; December 30, 2016.) © Dan Weedman
Yellow-billed Parrot. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; January 12, 2018.) © Charley Hesse TROPICAL BIRDING
Yellow-billed Parrot. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; March 25, 2017.) © Sam Woods
Yellow-billed Parrot. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; May 12, 2008.) © Wayne Sutherland
Yellow-billed Parrot, a duller-than-average individual with bluish cheek-patches. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; March 19, 2016.) © Sam Woods
Yellow-billed Parrot, showing extensively blue upperwing. (Ecclesdown Road, Jamaica; April 29, 2016.) © Frank Mantlik
Yellow-billed Parrot. (Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica; January 12, 2018.) © Charley Hesse TROPICAL BIRDING
Notes
Monotypic species.
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable.
References
BirdLife International. 2016. Amazona collaria. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22686209A93102664. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22686209A93102664.en. (Accessed September 27, 2017.)
eBird. 2019. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed May 1, 2019.)
Forshaw, J.M. 2010. Parrots of the World. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Haynes-Sutton, A., A. Downer, R. Sutton, and Y.-J. Rey-Millet. 2009. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.