What species?!

[horsefeathers]

My friend is trying to find a home for this mystery bird. I said I would help try to ID it, but I'm not having much luck. Does anyone here know what type of Amazon this is??

 

[horsefeathers]

Oops! Could I even be wrong about it being an Amazon??

 

[zarafia]

That is a lovely yellow-winged bluefront amazon. He is almost what could be called a choco bluefront. Choco refers to a small part of the bluefronts range where they are often very colorful. Sometimes the yellow on the wings extends even further than your friend's bird, and they often have a blueish tint to their green feathers. The aviary I used to work for had a really good pair of choco bluefronts who produced brilliantly colored young every year.

 

[horsefeathers]

Oh thank you! I would have never figured that out myself. I was starting to think he/she is a Yellow-shouldered Amazon based on these pictures: http://www. fotosearch. com/photos-images/amazonia.html But maybe they ID'd that parrot wrong? Or they are just different and I can't tell. lol

 

[horsefeathers]

Oh also can he/she be sexed from the pictures?

 

[zarafia]

You wont be able to post links untill you make a few more posts, but we also had yellow shouldered amazons at the aviary. They look similar to bluefronts but they are smaller and have no blue on their foreheads. If you look on the species identification sticky in the amazon section there should be some pics of both types of bluefront and yellow shouldereds.
In the ninetys there were a lot of yellow-winged bluefronts imported into the US, and we saw a lot of them even though they are less common than the nominate form in the wild.
By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[zarafia]

It is really hard for me to sex amazons in photos. I can sometimes tell sex in person, but thats not 100% anyway.
It doesn't cost very much to have them DNA sexed and it doesn't hurt the bird at all. None of the risks involved with surgical sexing.
You can ask a vet about it or probably get the kit right from Zoogen or Avian Biotec.

 

[horsefeathers]

Thank you so much, you are so helpful! And thanks for the welcome.

That link actually works if you take the brackets out. It's a picture of an Amazon with a remarkably similar head, but very little yellow on its wings. They have labled it a yellow-shoulder. I think I'm happy with your ID though! Thanks again!

 

[zarafia]

No problem. I love amazons. And those are great pictures. I am sure everyone will enjoy seeing them.

 

[horsefeathers]

I have one more question while I'm at it... About how much would an Amazon cost? What is a general price range for a healthy, young parrot?

 

[zarafia]

Well thats a little like asking "how much does a car cost?". It all depends on what kind you want. I used to sell my baby orangewings for 300$ just weaned. Of course I'm not a petstore and I don't have to rent a storefront or pay employees. You will often get a better price by finding a private breeder and if you are comfortable hand-feeding getting a baby on three feedings can drop the price even further. Keep in mind though if you get an unweaned baby you can't really ask for a health guarantee because so much is left up to you.

 

[horsefeathers]

Ha, sorry, I guess that is a tough question. You answered it pretty well though. I think my friend is giving that bird away "too a good home only", but I am curious how much he would cost if he was sold. But I have no idea how old he is or what sex. I guess it doesn't matter as long as he gets a good home!

 

[zarafia]

Well he is a very beautiful bird of the rarer subspecies. It would be nice if he could be placed in a breeding program.

 

[horsefeathers]

Hmm... I will pass all this info on to her.

 

[danewillow]

Our yellow-naped Amazon was a rehome at 9 years old. His previous owner was just looking for a good home for him. He asked $200 for the bird, cage, and food. He could have gotten double that for just the cage but he didn't care as long as the bird had a good home. Rocky is a little obnoxious sometimes but otherwise a good bird in excellent health. I wouldn't recommend "free to a good home" because you might get someone who would turn around and sell the bird again for profit. Rehoming can be stressful for a bird (though Rocky did amazingly well).

Julie