Breeding Pretre's Amazon at Palmitos Park, Gran Canaria (1991)

It is interesting to reflect on the avilability of Amazona species this century: only three have been freely available: the Orange-winged (A. amazonica), the Blue-front A. aestiva) and the Yellow-fronted or Yellow-crowned (A.o. ocbrocepbala), During the 1980s however, more species became available than at any other time in avicultural history. All those from continental or mainland South America, with the exception of the Mercenary (A. mercenaria) were available - and even the latter was imported into the U.S.A. on at least one occasion .. One species which was virtually unkown in aviculture until the decade of the 1980s is Pretre's Amazon (A. pretrei). However, it remains very rare so that most Amazon breeders have never seen it. As with a number of other parrot species during the past 20 years, its sudden appearance in aviculture was indicative of the fact that its habitat was being disturbed. Unfortunately, the numbers of this Amazon, also its range, is declining rapidly in the wild. It is now known to occur only in Rio Grande do Sul in southeastern Brazil. Possibly it survives in adjacent Misiones in northeastern Argentina. It was formerly found in southern Sao Paulo and perhaps in southeastern Paraguay, although there is no evidence that it was a resident there; possibly it occurred as a vagrant, if at all. There has been a substantial decline in its numbers since the 1970s mainly due to destruction of its specialized habitat. It is associated with Araucaria pine forest - and little virgin forest of this type now survives within its range. The ripe pine seeds are its principal food during much of the year. This Amazon migrates early each year, from the southern part of Rio Grande do Sul, to the north. This movement occurs after the breeding season. Pretre 's Amazon is closely related to the Tucuman Amazon (A. tucumana). It, too, is endangered by habitat destruction and, due to this and to excessive trade, was placed on Appendix 1 of CITES in 1989. The Tucuman is another avicultural newcomer, being virtually unknown until the late 1970s. Although the two species are very close in plumage coloration and size, their personalities are different. Much as I like the Tucuman, I would have to describe pretrei as one of the friendliest, most cheeky and cheerful parrots in existence! It seems almost inherently fearless - but usually without the vicious streak which accompanies fearlessness in some of the larger Amazons. It is a truly delightful bird to keep. Most specimens will whistle or call out to attract attention when anyone passes the aviary. It is a small Amazon weighing approximately between 240 grams and 310 grams and measuring 12 inches (30-3 lcm). Several books quote a larger length, even up to 35cm - but this is incorrect. At Palmitos Park, Gran Canaria (one of the Canary Islands, politically Spanish but located not far off the coast of West Africa), Pretres Amazon is well represented in the offexhibit breeding centre. The genus Amazona is the prime interest of Klaus Paulmann, the founder of Palmitos Park. He had been breeding endangered species of Amazons, such as the Cuban (A.1. leucocepbala), Yellow-shouldered (A. barbadensis) and the Tucuman, also threatened species such as the Hispaniolan (A. ventralis) and the Green-cheeked or Mexican Red-headed long before I joined the staff of Palmitos Park in February 1989. In 1990, the following Amazons were reared: Cuban, Hispaniolan, Yellow-lored (A. xantholora), Lilac-crowned (A.finscbi), Yellowshouldered, Yellow-fronted, Double Yellow-head (A. ochrocepbala oratrix) and Pretre's. All were reared by Amazons with the exception of one Hispaniolan which had to be hand-reared due to a bacterial infection and some of the barbadensis. Most of the pretrei had been flying together in a fairly large aviary for some months. They were not sexed as I was under the misapprehension that they were sexually dimorphic! They were paired up towards the end of February 1990 and we were left with what we believed to be four males. These were placed together in a breeding aviary with a nest-box. Among our group of this species were some obvious and some obvious females - but sexing is not as easy as has been suggested by some authors. Males are said to have more red on the head and/or on the wing. I tried to assess this feature in association with the size and shape of the head and beak. Certainly some females have noticeably smaller heads and beaks and most have less red in the plumage. However, I would advise chromosomal or surgical sexing of this species - as there is always the exception which proves the rule. And so it was that by March 30 one of the four males was incubating three eggs! A fourth was laid soon after. It appeared that the female was paired to the most assertive male, who was often displaying; the other two were removed from the space for a flowering hibiscus. The hibiscus not only break up stark outlines, but create a pleasant environment. Each aviary (most of those in this block house Amazons) measures approximately 8 feet (2.4m) x 4 feet (l .2m) x 7 feet (2. lm) high. On April 20, probably 25 days after the first egg was laid, a pip mark was seen. Early on the morning of April 22, there was a chick in the nest. The following morning there were two chicks. The third egg was pipping on the morning of April 24 and the chick had hatched by 3 p.m. the next day. The fourth egg was pipping on April 26 but the chick did not hatch until the morning of the 29th or the previous evening. I assume the latter. It would appear that the eggs hatched after 26 and 27 days. Three of the four chicks were weighed on the day they hatched. Weights were 11 grams (with a little food in the crop), 12 grams with the crop full and IO grams with some food in the crop.