Top 10 Smartest Talking Birds In The World
By • Last Updated9. Yellow-crowned Amazon
Yellow-crowned Amazon parrots are playful and affectionate birds native to the rainforests of North and South America. They are known for their impressive vocal abilities, making them some of the best talkers in the Amazon parrot family. However, while some individuals are exceptional at mimicking speech, others may never learn to talk at all.
The ability of yellow-crowned Amazon parrots to talk depends on various factors, such as their environment and the frequency of their interactions with humans. In addition to their vocal skills, these parrots are known for their loud calls. They also enjoy long lifespans, often exceeding 60 years.
The yellow-crowned Amazon, or yellow-crowned parrot, is a species native to the tropical regions of South America and Panama. Its taxonomy is quite complex, with the yellow-headed and yellow-naped Amazons (A. auropalliata) sometimes classified as subspecies of the yellow-crowned Amazon. This discussion primarily focuses on the nominate group.
Members of this nominate group typically measure between 33 and 38 cm in total length. Like many other Amazon parrots, they have a short, squarish tail and predominantly green plumage. Their feathers feature dark blue tips on the secondaries and primaries, along with a red wing speculum, carpal edge, and base of the outer tail feathers. The red and dark blue colors can be difficult to see when the bird is perched, while the red base of the outer tail feathers is rarely visible under normal viewing conditions in the wild. The amount of yellow on the head varies among subspecies; the nominate, nattereri, and panamensis have yellow restricted to the crown, while the xantholaema subspecies exhibits yellow over most of the head. All have a distinctive white eye-ring. Their bill is dark with a large horn or reddish spot on the upper mandible, except for panamensis, which has a horn-colored beak. Males and females are indistinguishable in terms of plumage, and juveniles have little yellow and red in their feathers, aside from the wing speculum.