Imperial Parrot Amazona imperialis Scientific name definitions

The Imperial Parrot is a medium-sized, green-and-purple parrot endemic to the island of Dominica in the Lesser Antilles. The largest species in the genus Amazona, the Imperial Parrot has a green back, purple neck, green-tipped, red tail, and purple underparts. Found only in a very small area of northern Dominica, the Imperial Parrot is a reclusive montane species, living primarily at elevations from 600 to 1300 meters. These parrots dwell in primary, rainforest canopy, foraging in small groups for fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, blossoms, and shoots. This species is also featured on the center of the Dominican flag and coat of arms. The Imperial Parrot has an extremely small range and a small population of roughly 150 individuals; due to this, the Imperial Parrot has been listed as endangered on the IUCN watchlist. The main threats to the Imperial Parrot include habitat loss, illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade, and occasional hurricane-related damage.

45–51 cm. Head , nape and mantle purplish black, shading to purple with dark margins giving a scaled effect on undersides; thighs and vent dull green; wings dull green with red carpals, purple speculum and blackish-blue primaries; tail reddish brown tipped greenish blue. Immature has green nape and neck.

Mountain valleys of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), chiefly in Morne Diablotin area but also in Northern and Central Forest Reserves, and has recently re-established a small population in Morne Trois Pitons National Park (1 Reillo, P.R. (2001). Imperial recovery: Dominica’s flagship parrot on the comeback. PsittaScene 13: 4–6. Close , 2 Reillo, P.R., Durand, S., Winston, R., Maximea, M. and Williams, D. (2002). Flying high with the Jaco and Sisserou: real-time parrot conservation on Dominica, nature island of the Caribbean. Amazona Soc. UK 11(4): 7–19. Close ).

Moist forest chiefly at 600–1300 m, but may occur at lower elevations in wake of hurricanes that badly effect habitat at higher elevations on the island.

Wide range of fruits and/or seeds recorded, including Dacryodes, Licania, Richeria, Amanoa, Simarouba, Symphonia, Pouteria, Tapura, Clusia and several palms. Following hurricanes, observed feeding on fallen grapefruit and guava fruits, presumably due to the severe lack of fruits on live trees (3 Palmer, C.A., Martin, T.E., Durand, S. and Lamont, M. (2018). First observations of the impacts of Hurricane Maria on the endemic imperial amazon. Oryx. 52(3): 410–411. Close ).

A variety of screeches, squeels and rolling barks.

Feb–Jun. Nest in hole in tree, notably Dacryodes excelsa and Sloanea berteriana. Eggs two, though seldom more than one young reared; size (in captivity) 45·8 mm × 37·3 mm (4 Harrison, C. J. O., and D. T. Holyoak (1970). Apparently undescribed parrot eggs in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 90(2):42–46. Close ).

ENDANGERED. CITES I. Previously listed as Vulnerable. Restricted-range species: confined to the Lesser Antilles EBA. Formerly common to abundant within relatively small, inaccessible range, declining catastrophically in the period 1880–1980 owing to habitat destruction, extensive hunting for food, trade and hurricanes, two of the latter in 1979 and 1980 reducing the population to 40–100. Natural recovery and considerable conservation effort since that time has resulted in some upturn, with 80–100 in 1993 and higher numbers judged present in 1994. More recently, the population was estimated at 250–350 individuals, but effects of Hurricane Maria (in late 2017), which have yet to be fully established, potentially reduced numbers to the very low levels of the late 1970s (following Hurricane David); first dedicated survey, in Jan 2018, and anecdotal sightings, revealed 11 reports of parrots at unusually widely scattered localities across the island, the birds probably wandering to unusually lowland sites in response to food shortages in the highlands (3 Palmer, C.A., Martin, T.E., Durand, S. and Lamont, M. (2018). First observations of the impacts of Hurricane Maria on the endemic imperial amazon. Oryx. 52(3): 410–411. Close ). This species’ population, like that of many others, is presumably cyclical, crashing in the wake of direct hits by hurricanes but then slowly rebuilding in the years that follow; however, of considerable concern is that as a consequence of climate change, hurricanes are likely to become more frequent and if the island was to be hit by two or more storms without sufficient interval for this parrot to cover, then the possibility of  extinction would be considerably heightened. There are very few individuals in captivity, and some of these are old (3 Palmer, C.A., Martin, T.E., Durand, S. and Lamont, M. (2018). First observations of the impacts of Hurricane Maria on the endemic imperial amazon. Oryx. 52(3): 410–411. Close ).