Blue Fronted Amazon parrots are among the more popular medium sized parrot species, which might have something to do with their gregarious personalities. They are often described as boisterous, playful, and outgoing and some even like to sing, but more like to bite : )
Male Amazons have a reputation for exhibiting “macho” behaviour, they might flare their tail feathers, pin their eyes and “strut” across the floor or table top. Amazon parrots have a well earned reputation as being the “life of the party.” These primarily green medium to large sized parrots are typically bold, comical and often love to be the centre of attention.
Native Region / Natural Habitat
Amazon parrots are from Mexico, South America, as well as parts of the Caribbean. The wild Amazon’s natural habits include savannas, palm groves, scrub forest and rainforest.
Care & Feeding
Most Amazon parrots love to bathe; and bathing opportunities can include joining their owner in the shower, getting a spray bath, or jumping in their water dish and splashing water all about.
Bathing is an important part of an Amazon’s feather health. Because of their love of food and their habit of begging for table foods from their owners, Amazon parrots tend to tip the scales toward being overweight. An Amazon parrot needs a spacious cage with toys and swings spread out, as well as a play gym/play tree, climbing rope and/or ladders to scale to encourage movement and exercise.
An Amazon parrot often has a hearty appetite, especially for people food so owners need to make sure that they and other household members do not overdue it with treats and table foods.
An Amazon parrot’s main diet should consist of a nutritionally balanced manufactured diet, as well as an assortment of healthy vegetables, some fruit and healthy treats that pack nutrition instead of empty calories. Amazon parrots seem to relish the texture of food almost as much as its taste, and especially seem to enjoy Vetafarm Nutri Blend small Pellets, Sunflower Seeds and Bananas.
A properly cared for Amazon parrot that consumes a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet can live up to 90 years or more.
Blue-Fronted Amazon Colours and Markings
The primary color of this parrot is beautiful lime green. Their "blue-fronted" description comes from a blotch of blue or turquoise found just above the beak. Though this is the species' trademark, breeding has created a wide range of markings on the birds' heads. These markings make it easier to distinguish an individual parrot from the flock.
Some birds have no blue on the head while others have a head that is almost entirely turquoise. Yellow typically surrounds the blue and stretches over and under the head before giving way to the body's bright green feathers. You might even find birds with white patches.
Generally, the blue-fronted has touches of bright red on the shoulders and flight feathers, which may also have a violet tint when in flight. This also varies by individual, and some have only green shoulders, particularly wild parrots found in northwestern Argentina.
In captivity, there are a few color mutations such as cinnamon blue-fronted Amazons, which have brownish-yellow body feathers rather than green. The lutino variation typically has white feathers where you would generally expect yellow. There is also a blue mutation that has produced an entirely blue bird with patches of yellow.
Typically, the beaks are black, and the feet are grey. It's a monomorphic species, so the males and females look alike. The only way to know the sex of your bird is through DNA or surgical sexing.
Personality & Behaviour
Amazon parrots typically play hard. An Amazon parrot might swing upside down from the cage, delight in destroying their wooden toys and even wrestle their owner’s hand with their beak. An Amazon parrot’s mood is one of the easiest to read among parrot species because it is excellent at expressing itself through its body language: pinning eyes, raised head/neck feathers, fanned tail feathers and broad stance, for example, indicates a highly excitable Amazon parrot.
An Amazon owner should pay close attention to his or her Amazon parrot’s body language to be fully attuned to the bird’s mood. An excitable Amazon parrot might be telling you that it doesn’t wish to be handled, and failure to recognize this might result in a bite.
An Amazon parrot can also go into “play overload” during play, especially when beak wrestling with you. Stop the play session to give your Amazon parrot time to calm down as soon as you see overly excited body language. Male Amazon parrots, especially male Double Yellow Headed Amazons, Yellow Naped Amazons and Blue Fronted Amazons are said to be more aggressive than females of their species.
My male Blue Fronted Amazon (Carlos) is particularly easy to read and I trust him 95% but am very adapt at reading his moods, etc. so any sought of bite is extremely rare and relatively soft compared to what he could do if he wanted?
Carlos & Chiquita
Speech & Sound
Amazon parrots are one of the better talkers of the parrot world. They seem to be especially fond of music and singing. An Amazon parrot could not careless if the song it sings is off key; it will sing as if it wrote the song itself. Amazons can learn to speak so many words and phrases and imitate sounds. An Amazon parrot can also be noisy, especially when it wants attention. It can scream loudly and some make a repetitive honk like sound when they want something. Some Amazons make a little shrill sound to express delight while they eat a favourite treat.
Health & Common Conditions
Amazon parrots are prone to becoming obese, which is why owners should pay attention to the amount and types of food offered daily. Other diseases/conditions that affect Amazon parrots include: Polyomavirus (can cause anorexia, lethargy, weight loss, death); Chlamydiosis (signs include low appetite, fluffed feathers, nasal discharge) and vitamin-A deficiency if fed an inadequate diet.
Carlos & Chiquita
Carlos & Chiquita