The Story
I photographed this Yellow-crowned Amazon (Amazona ochrocephala) at El Escondite Reserva Natural, near Villagarzón, Putumayo, Colombia, in October 2019. It is mostly green, with red and dark blue in the wings that is often hard to see on a perched bird. It usually travels in pairs or small flocks, and larger groups gather at clay licks. It eats fruit, nuts, seeds, berries, blossoms and leaf buds, and it is fond of corn and cultivated fruit. It nests in a hollow in a tree, palm or termite mound. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 400. Besides its birds, the reserve shelters primates, otters, small wild cats and silky anteaters, and visitors’ fees help protect them.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-crowned Amazon (Amazona ochrocephala) belongs to the family Psittacidae (New World and African Parrots) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List