The black-billed amazon (Amazona agilis) is a parrot endemic to Jamaica. Sometimes called the black-billed parrot, this amazon parrot is mostly green with small patches of red on the wing and sometimes flecked on the head. Its bill makes it easy to separate from most other amazons, including the yellow-billed amazon, which also lives in Jamaica. It is the smallest Amazona parrot at .

Taxonomy

In 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the black-billed amazon in the fourth volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The little green parrot". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a live bird that he had bought from a dealer in London. He was uncertain of the origin but assumed that it had come from the West Indies. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the black-billed amazon with the other parrots in the genus Psittacus. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Psittacus agilis and cited Edwards' work. The black-billed amazon is now one of 33 parrots placed in the genus Amazona that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1830. The genus name is a Latinized version of the name Amazone given to them in the 18th century by the Comte de Buffon, who believed they were native to Amazonian jungles. The specific epithet agilis is Latin meaning "nimble" or "active". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Females are similar to males but with some primary coverts green instead of red.

The black-billed amazon's call is bugling while in flight however, while perched it growls and rumbles. Often its calls tend to be sharp and screechy.

References

  • Species factsheet – BirdLife International