Red-lored Parrot, Amazona autumnalis

Red-lored Parrot, Amazona autumnalis. Photograph taken in the coastal region of Guatemala, March 2020. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Red-lored Parrot, Amazona autumnalis, is a member of the Psittacidae Family of New World and African Parrots. They are also known as the Yellow-cheeked Parrot and the bird found in Mexico is the Amazona autumnalis autumnalis subspecies. They are mid-sized in stature. In Mexico they are found in the coastal regions within the Atlantic Slope from southern Tamaulipas to Belize, including the Yucatán Peninsula, at elevations below 1,000 m (3,300 feet). From a conservation perspective the Red-lored Parrot is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations, but they are subject to are subject heavy pressure in the wild due to trapping by the pet trade. They are found along the edges of humid evergreen and semi-deciduous lowland and foothill forests, gallery woodland and semi-open areas with scattered trees, plantations and groves. Their diet consists primarily of the fruits of a wide variety of palms that is supplemented by cultivated fruits (citrus, mangroves and coffee beans) and seeds.