Turquoise-fronted Parrot

Amazona aestiva

The Birds of the World website introduces the Turquoise-fronted Parrot with this descriptive information:  Also known as the Turquoise-fronted Amazon or Parrot, this species has been considered to be one of the most abundant of its genus. Found from northeast Brazil south to Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, the species is known from a variety of more or less wooded habitats, including Cerrado and Chaco scrub, gallery forests, and palm groves. Given its overall abundance, the Blue-fronted Parrot has been heavily targeted by the cagebird trade, although on the plus side it has almost certainly benefited from ongoing agricultural expansion through much of its range. Like many Amazona species, the plumage is mainly green, with a largely yellow face, and a blue frontal band, as well as red speculum. There are two subspecies, and these differ most obviously in the color of the smaller wing coverts, red in the nominate race, and yellow (and forming a more extensive patch) in the southwestern subspecies.

I met my first Turquoise-fronted Parrot on the morning of Thursday, August 31, 2023.  Our Jeff Parker Tour group was staying at Southwild’s Pouso Alegre Lodge  and I watched this bird during an a walk on the lodge grounds.  This bird was in an area of the grounds away from the feeders, perched high atop a tall tree.  For details of my Brazilian trip that include the sighting of this bird, look here.  Below are a few of my photos of this beautiful Parrot.