Two Cuban Amazons (Amazona leucocephala) have hatched in the Szeged Wildlife Park, visitors can already see the roughly ten-week-old parrots.
In the zoo, visitors can meet many rare species of South American parrots, among which the macaws are the most striking – if only with their voice. Amazon parrots – although they are only considered medium-sized – are no less colorful and interesting birds. The Cuban Amazon parrot is considered to be a rarity in zoos; according to the international database, only fifty to sixty individuals are kept in European zoos. One of them, a couple lives in Szeged and is raising offspring for the second time. The two Cuban amazons hatched from their eggs at the beginning of June, and in the past few days they have started to leave their breeding den, so visitors can already see them.
Most of the body of the 32 cm tall Cuban Amazon parrots is green, their forehead is white, their throat is bright red, the lower part of their belly is wine red, and their lower wing coverts are pale green. In addition to the island in their name, they also live in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands, the latter of which was chosen as their official bird.
According to data from the World Conservation Union (IUCN), no more than 27,000 individuals of the species can survive in the wild, and their number is constantly decreasing. The loss of its habitat and the trade in ornamental birds both threaten it.
They mostly live in small groups or in pairs, and they prefer mangrove forests, where they feed on seeds, fruits and flowers.
A couple got together in the Szeged Wildlife Park in 2017. The male arrived first, when the authorities confiscated and placed an illegally kept specimen in the zoo, then a hen arrived from Germany. The couple’s first two cubs went to the Nyíregyháza Zoo, the current two cubs will also move to another zoo over time, but you can still observe the family life of the Amazons in Szeged until autumn.
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Phot: Szeged Zoo
