Portal:Puerto Rico/Selected articles/16

The Puerto Rican amazon (Amazona vittata), is an endemic parrot of the archipelago of Puerto Rico belonging to the neotropical genus Amazona. Measuring 28–30 cm (11–12 in), the Puerto Rican Amazon is predominantly green with a red forehead and white rings around the eyes. Two subspecies have been described, although there are doubts over the distinctiveness of the form gracilipes from Culebra Island, extinct since 1912. Its closest relatives are believed to be the Jamaican Black-billed amazon (Amazona agilis) and the Hispaniolan amazon (Amazona ventralis). The species is the only remaining native parrot in Puerto Rico and one of the ten most endangered bird species in the world. Initially widespread and abundant, the population declined drastically in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the removal of most of its native habitat, also vanishing from nearby Vieques Island and Mona Island. Conservation efforts were started in 1968 to save this species from likely extinction. As of 2008, the total wild population is estimated to be between 30 and 35 individuals. (more...)