imperial amazon

[texsize]

Most people have heard about the Mealy amazon being the largest of the amazon species.
I don't know this bird is bigger but it sure is spectacular to look at and king sized to boot (pun intended).

 

[ravvlet]

Woah! They are gorgeous! I did a quick google and it looks like the males are definitely bigger than a mealy:

The imperial amazon measures an average of 48 cm (19 in) in length.[5] With males weighing an average of 900 g (32 oz) and females 650 g (23 oz), the species is large for its genus.[5]

It turns out the reason we maybe never heard of them before is they only live on one island & there are only fifty breeding pairs left in the wild!

 

[SailBoat]

Sadly, very true and the hurricanes that have tracked-up the Eastern Islands have reduced the breeding pairs even more. Because they are so endangered, they have long been restricted from exporting them.
And, Yes, they are big, really big for Amazons. The limited number of Mealy's in North America has also keep them, if you will, hidden from the Companion trade.