Dominica is a mountainous, volcanic island and one of the last remaining islands in the region with large areas of intact rainforest. The Jaco is a noisy, gregarious parrot, mostly green in color with blue tinged cheeks and forehead. Social by nature, they travel in loud groups or flocks and spend most of their time in the forest canopy feeding on fruits and vegetation. Jacos prefer nests in the upper regions of rainforest trees, which can reach heights of over 200 feet. Nest cavities are formed when a tree looses a limb, leaving a hole in the trunk which eventually forms a deep depression.
Some nest cavities are four to six feet deep.
Nest sites are limited, and competition is fierce among the birds for the best nest trees. Females lay a clutch of three large, white eggs and incubate them 26-28 days. The female rarely leaves the nest during incubation, so the male forages and feeds the female while she sits the eggs. Upon hatching, both parents forage and feed the chicks, which hatch blind and helpless. At about 12 weeks of age the chicks are fully feathered and will climb to the nest entrance to peer out.