Critically Endangered
Imperial Amazon
Amazona imperialis
The imperial amazon or Dominican amazon, also known as the sisserou or sisserou parrot, is a parrot found only on the Caribbean island of Dominica.
Appearance
Being of the family Psittacidae, the sisserou has zygodactyl feet and a thick, hooked bill with a muscular tongue. This bill is fashioned in such a way that, using its hinged mandibles and tongue, the sisserou can easily move food around in its mouth. Males and females have identical plumage: the chest is a dark shade of purple, and the upper parts and feathers are a dark shade of green, with black-edged feather tips.
The imperial amazon measures an average of 48 cm (19 in) in length. With males weighing an average of 900 g (32 oz) and females 650 g (23 oz), the species is large for its genus.
Range and habitat
The imperial amazon is endemic to the Caribbean island nation of Dominica in the Lesser Antilles where it inhabits mountain forest areas above 2,100 ft (625 m). It is the island's national bird and also appears on the country's flag. The species frequently occurs in the Morne Diablotins in northern Dominica, especially the upper Picard River Valley on the northwest side of the mountain.
The imperial amazon or Dominican amazon, also known as the sisserou or sisserou parrot, is a parrot found only on the Caribbean island of Dominica. With the help of Dominica's Forestry, and the Wildlife and Parks Division and the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), areas such as the Northern Forest Reserve and the Central Forest Reserve are protected.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
The sisserou's diet consists of fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, blossoms and palm shoots. Usually, they feed in the morning and evening.
During fledging, that occurs between June and early September, both parents will take care of and feed the chicks until they are fully feathered and ready to leave the nest. Even so, the bird may grieve to death rather than find a new mate.
In crisis
The species is critically endangered. In 2019, it was estimated there were only about 50 mature individuals left in the wild. The imperial amazon is a critically endangered species.
There are estimated to be only about 50 mature individuals left in the wild as of 2019. However areas adjacent to the Northern Forest Reserve and the Central Forest Reserve remain unprotected.
CITES lists this taxon on Appendix I. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.
Imperial Amazon is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Imperial Amazon, Wikidata item Q1165844. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
