Abstract
The loudspeaker at Ezeiza Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina called my name. The respond elicited a message to call Horacio Cornejo, a local dealer and aviculturist. He took me to the nesting range of the Yellow-winged Amazon Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx in order for me to record the development of wild young, data that could be compared to domestically produced chicks. Calling Cornejo brought the news that a Brazilian aviculturist friend would be waiting for me at the Rio de Janeiro Airport, where my plane was scheduled to stop for about an hour, in order for me to see his "papagaio real". That name did not ring a bell, and I am extremely knowledgeable of native names for parrots (they often give a clue as to the species' habits or characteristics, i.e. the Quechua name for Pyrrhura frontalis is chiripepe, this refers to its habit of sitting with feathers fluffed). There can be various names for one species (e.g. Ararauna, Arauna , Arara caninde for the Hyacinthine Macaw Anodorhynch us hyacinthinus in Brazil). Cornejo had never heard the name. By then my curiosity had apexed. I had to alter my plans of returning to the States in order to see the birds.After clearing customs and collecting my luggage, I was greeted by my friend. My first question related to the name. He replied that I had received two slides of the birds. It immediately dawned that the bird was Amazona ochrocephala xantholaema-the little known subspecies of the Yellow-fronted Amazon endemic to Marajo, an island about the size of Switzerland at the mourh of the Amazon River.
The Ma raj 6 Island bird is larger than a Yellow-fronted or -crowned, Amazon, approximating the Double Yellow-headed Amazon. Adults weigh in excess of 500 grams, with one registered at 582 grams (a pet held in Belem). The amount of yellow in the face is variable, but usually this circles the eyes and may, in exceptional specimens, extend back to the nape. The bill is larger than in ochrocephala; it is blackish, except for the upper mandible, near the base, which is pinkish-horn colored. The front has a narrow line of green feathers - the characteristic which with the bill color separates this bird quickly from the true Blue-fronted Amazon Amazona aestiua aestiva. Interestingly, many of those that participated in the October 1986 Loro Parque Conference did not realize that the Maraj6 Island individual on display there had an aestiua as a mate. Such are the strong affinities between these two species-and this will undoubtedly be used as an argument to amalgamate the two into one species.
The bird's large size and reputation as a clever and reliable mimic is reflected in the Portuguese name, as the word "real" means regal.
The two birds in Rio de Janeiro were tame, as is the case with most xantholaema, presumably because they are taken as nestlings. The next xantholaema that I would see was in February 1987, in an enclosure containing other Amazona parrots at the Museu Emilio Goeldi in Belem, Para, northern Brazil, the stepping stone for Marajo Island.
Travel to Marajo is not regular and is generally via a boat or private plane. It is best known for its Scarlet Ibises Eudocimus ruber and the large population of...