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The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot or ''iguaca'', is the only bird endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico belonging to the Neotropical genus ''Amazona''. Measuring , the bird is a predominantly green parrot with a red forehead and white rings around the eyes. Two subspecies have been described, although there are doubts regarding the distinctiveness of the form ''gracilipes'' from Culebra Island, extinct since 1912. Its closest relatives are believed to be the Cuban amazon (''Amazona leucocephala'') and the Hispaniolan amazon (''Amazona ventralis''). The Puerto Rican amazon reaches sexual maturity at between three and four years of age. It reproduces once a year and is a cavity nester. Once the female lays eggs she will remain in the nest and continuously incubate them until hatching. The chicks are fed by both parents and will fledge 60 to 65 days after hatching. This parrot's diet is varied and consists of flowers, fruits, leaves, bark and nectar obtained from the forest canopy. The species is the only remaining native parrot in Puerto Rico and has been listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union since 1994. Once widespread and abundant, the population declined drastically in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the removal of most of its native habitat; the species completely vanished from Vieques and Mona Island, nearby to the main island of Puerto Rico. Conservation efforts commenced in 1968 to save the bird from extinction. In 2012, the total estimated population was 58–80 individuals in the wild and over 300 individuals in captivity.〔 ==Taxonomy and evolution== The Puerto Rican amazon was described by Dutch ornithologist Pieter Boddaert in 1783. It belongs to the large Neotropical genus ''Amazona'', commonly known as amazons; these birds have also been given the generic epithet of "parrot" by the American Ornithologists' Union, hence "Puerto Rican parrot" is an alternative common name in North America.〔 The indigenous Taíno people called it the ''iguaca'', an onomatopoeic name that resembled the parrots' flight call. There are two recognized subspecies: *''A. v. vittata'' is the nominate and only extant subspecies, inhabiting Puerto Rico and formerly nearby Vieques Island and Mona Island.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Taxonomy: Puerto Rican Parrot )〕 *''A. v. gracilipes'' inhabited Culebra Island and is now extinct. It is unclear whether it was substantially different from the nominate subspecies. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Puerto Rican amazon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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