Red Lored Amazon

Where are they Found? Mexico, Central Amercia and Northern South America
Latin Name: amazona autumnulis
Talking Ability: High, very vocal.
Noise Level: See talking Ability
Size: Average Height 34cm, weight up to 450 grams
Lifespan: 60 years of more

The Red Lored Amazon is a very popular pet bird because of their animated antics an incredible talking ability

In the Wild
The Red Lored Amazon is a woodland parrot, they are a very social bird living in flocks of several hundred individuals. As you’d expect in such a crowd, you need to be loud to be heard these guys are very vocal intelligent birds and great talkers. Always with something to say they are even more vocal in springtime which is their breeding season

As with all parrots native to this area numbers in the wild are in decline predominately due to habitat loss.

Appearance
both the males and females have the same feather pattern which is mostly green with a red forehead and bright yellow cheeks. They have violated feathers at the back of their heads and down the back of the neck. The secondary flight feathers are red with blue tips – this markings are not visible when perched however they are very dramatic and beautiful when the Red Lored Amazonas is in flight. The have a two coloured beak with the upper part being horn coloured the lower extremity of their beak is grey. Legs are grey their irises are a yellow orange colour, with a light blue eye ring.

Diet
In the wild diet consists of a range of fruits, nuts and seeds with the emphasis on this order. A diet too high in seed is not good for them and will not allow them to get the nutrition they need. Your local pet shop will be on to supply a suitable bird pellet feed that you should supplement this with seasonal fruits as well is green vegetables and carrots

Suitability as a Pet
Assuming your Red Lored Amazon is hand reared they make wonderful pets. They are an incredibly intelligent, are great talkers able to learn to 50 words or more. You can teach them to talk, but they will learn in any case and you can expect them to mimic your doorbell, your phone and any other sounds commonly heard around your house. (editor I have received an e-mail from one owner who has to change their mobile phone ring every few weeks as they are unable to tell the difference between the real ring in the ring has copied by their Red Lored Amazon, right down to the number of rings)

Whilst having such an intelligent chatty bird may seem a blessing to people who prefer peace and quiet it will be a curse. The noise level increases even more during breeding so breeding them outside in suburbia is not going to result in you receiving many neighbourhood Christmas cards.

As they are birds that in the wild live in a large flock they will happily adopt your whole family as their flock assuming everyone gives them some time. If one person becomes the primary giver of care and affection your red Lored may bond with this person and will seek to defend them from others in your family as well strangers. Do note in Spring when breeding season starts they will tend to form a strong bond with the main caregiver so if you do not wish this to happen make sure is that neither time nor red lored is given attention of the whole family.

Red Lored Amazons can to scream their displeasure. This displeasure might be out of boredom from lack of attention for some reason you are unable to discern. Assuming your Red Lored is an indoor bird to discourage screaming simply cover up the cage. Screaming indicate a desire for attention and reaction from you – if the reaction is to exclude them and ignore them they will learn to find other ways to get your attention.

A Red Lored Amazon as a pet is a pet for life. In defining what life is – in many casesthis means the lifetime of your children as these birds can live as many as 60 70 even 80 years if cared for properly. There are many bird rescues where the managers shake their heads at people who buy these birds on a whim because of the reputation as being affectionate and talkative. They are a very long commitment even after the initial excitement wears off so think carefully about whether you up to the challenge before buying one. They really a recommended for experienced parrot owners.

Cage Size and General Care
As always if being kept in an outdoor aviary you should seek to install an aviary as large as you possibly with an area they can fly back and forth in. Only keep them in an outdoor aviary if you live in a warm area. As red loreds are so intelligent they need lots of stimulation that means many different hanging toys, especially ones that make noise but also ones that swing such as swimming perches and ropes. They also love to climb up and down the different hanging rope ladders will keep them amused. Move some toys around from time to time take some out, put some new ones in.

If kept inside a cage of at least 80 cm x 80 cm x 1.25 m again with multiple perches and many toys is needed. They are chewers so expect everything to look rather ragged after a while.

The require as much time as possible out of their cage to ensure their physical and mental well-being. If you are precious about your curtains consider another bird as they love to climb in Chew on vertical hanging things.

As they generally live in a high rainfall area they love a bath or shower so mist them regularly and place in a warm area to dry out. You can expect some individuals after a bath or shower to mimic the sound of your blow drier if that’s what they want to happen.

Red Lored Amazon in Australia
In Australia though very rare due to the wealth of native parrots here. If you are able to find a breeder with one or more for sale expect to pay at least $5000 per bird – likely much more.