Newly discovered and endangered: The Blue-winged Amazon parrot has been identified in Mexico and has unusual blue plumage and a distinctive squawk
- Blue-winged Amazon evolved from the White-fronted parrot 120,000 years ago
- It has a unique shape, colour pattern, call and behaviour and is found in Mexico
- Because of the species' small range and rarity scientists claim they should be classified as endangered
A parrot with unusual blue plumage and a distinctive squawk has been identified in Mexico as a new species.
The blue-winged Amazon has a distinctive shape, colour pattern, call and behaviour and evolved from the White-fronted parrot around 120,000 years ago.
It joins just two parrots from the Amazon parrot family, the red-crowned amazon and lilac-crowned amazon, to be found only in Mexico.
And because of the species' small range and rarity scientists claim they should be classified as endangered.
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A parrot with unusual blue plumage and a distinctive squawk has been identified in Mexico as a new species. The Blue-winged Amazon (pictured) has a distinctive shape, colour pattern, call and behaviour and evolved from the White-fronted parrot around 120,000 years ago
The discovery also sheds light about parrot evolution and colonisation of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and Central America from the South America mainland with migrations and diversification rates linked to climatic and geological events in the last five million years.
Ornithologist Dr Miguel Gomez Garza came across the new species during a visit to a remote part of the Yucatán Peninsula.
It is named after its primarily blue covert feathers and is characterised by its unique green crown that contrast to blue in other Amazon parrots.
And its has a call all of its own that is loud, sharp, short, repetitive and monotonous.
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Dr Gomez Garza said one particular vocalisation was more reminiscent of an Accipiter than of any known parrot and the duration of syllables is much longer than in other Amazon parrot species.
When flying the call is a loud, short, sharp and repetitive yak-yak-yak but while perched, the call is mellow and prolonged.
The species lives in small flocks of less than 12 and their offspring have a tendency to remain together, and are discernible in groups.
The new species (top line of right image) is named after its primarily blue covert feathers and is characterised by its unique green crown that contrast to blue in other Amazon parrots. Like all parrots it is a herbivore eating seeds, fruits, flowers and leaves (left)
But like all parrots it is a herbivore eating seeds, fruits, flowers and leaves obtained in the tree canopy.
The analysis of mitochondrial DNA genes indicates the blue-winged Amazon has emerged quite recently, or about 120,000 years ago, from within the White-fronted parrot population.
Over the years its call was sufficiently different to make it recognisable as a separate species.
Dr Gomez Garza said: 'Parrots are a diverse group of birds which need urgent protection.
When flying, the bird's unique call is a loud, short, sharp and repetitive 'yak-yak-yak', but while perched, the call is mellow and prolonged
'However, many taxa from this order have an unresolved status, which makes their conservation difficult.
'One species-rich parrot genus is Amazona, which is widely distributed in the New World.
'Here we describe a new Amazona form, which is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula.
'This parrot is clearly separable from other Amazona species in eleven morphometric characters as well as call and behaviour.
'The clear differences in these features imply that the parrot most likely represents a new species.'
Ornithologist Dr Miguel Gomez Garza came across the new species during a visit to a remote part of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
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