Appearance

Amazon parrots (Amazona) are medium to large parrots with relatively short, blunt-tipped tails. Yellow-lored Parrot is a small amazon, but otherwise is a typical member of the genus. Yellow-lored Parrot is a small bright green parrot with yellow lores and a dark brown auricular spot. The male also has a red eye mask , a white forecrown, and a red shoulder patch. The female has little red on the face, the forecrown is bluish (not white), and lacks the red shoulder patch. The secondaries are blue violet; the primaries are similar, but with green bases. The tail is green, with some red (mostly concealed) at the base.

White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons) is similar in size and appearance to Yellow-lored, and occurs throughout the range of Yellow-lored. White-fronted Parrot lacks the dusky auriculars of Yellow-lored, and has a greener (less yellow green) rump. Male White-fronted Parrot also differs from male Yellow-lored in having more extensive red on the wing coverts and in lacking the yellow lores. The white forecrown in the Yellow-lored Parrot male is larger than in male White-fronted Parrots. Both sexes of Yellow-lored Parrot have extensive dark scalloping. Female White-fronted Parrots have a white forecrown and red mask that female Yellow-lored Parrots do not have (Howell and Webb 1995).

The following description is based on Ridgway (1916):

Adult male: Upper half (or more) of loral region and sides of forecrown chrome yellow. Rest of forecrown and most of crown immaculate white. Lower portion of loral region, and areas above, below and behind eye, bright red. Auricular region dusky. Rear crown greenish blue, becoming clear green on nape; rest of upperparts yellowish green; feathers of head (green portion only), back, scapulars, and rump and underparts (except for undertail coverts) scalloped with black. Upper- and undertail coverts bright pale yellowish green. Central pair of rectrices green, becoming bright pale yellowish green at tip; next pair of rectrices yellowish green, yellow at base, and with a red streak near the base on the inner web; third pair of rectrices similar but with more extensive red on inner web; fourth and fifth pairs with even more extensive red, on the fifth pair the red spreading onto the outer web and covering most of the inner web; sixth (outermost) pair of rectrices with outer web mostly green, but basal half (or more) of inner web red. Edge of wing and primary coverts bright red. Secondaries and inner primaries rich blue; outermost primaries green, becoming blue distally on outer webs.

Adult female: Similar to male, but forecrown and crown greenish blue, with only a few white feathers mixed into the forecrown. Yellow of lores paler or duller. Only a few red feathers on the face. Auriculars suffused with dusky (but not solid dusky as in male). Primary coverts green; red on bend of wing reduced or absent.

Juvenile male: Similar to adult female, but has some red on primary coverts .

Molts of Yellow-lored Parrot apparently are not described in detail. Klaas (1968) reported two specimens with both body and wing molt in July and August, and a single July specimen that had completed the wing molt but showed extensive body molt.

Iris: orange

Bare orbital skin: dull white

Bill: yellow

Toes: yellow

Bare parts color data from Ridgway (1916).

Total length: 25.5-28 cm (Howell and Webb 1995), 26 cm (Juniper and Parr 1998)

Linear measurements (from Ridgway 1916):

male (n = 15)

wing length, mean 173.6 mm (range 168-180.5 mm)

tail length, mean 82.6 mm (range 73.5-90 mm)

bill length, mean 25.8 mm (range 24.5-28 cm)

tarsus length, mean 18.2 mm (range 17-19 mm)

female (n = 3)

wing length, mean 164.5 mm (range 161.5-170.5 mm)

tail length, mean 73.8 mm (range 69-81 mm)

bill length, mean 25.2 mm (range 24.5-25.5 cm)

tarsus length, mean 18.3 mm (range 17.5-19 mm)

Mass: male, mean 219.1 g (range 199.5-232.2 g, n = 7; Paynter 1955,
Klaas 1968); female, mean 212.0 (range 202.1-224.9 g, n = 3; Paynter 1955, Klaas 1968)