Yellow-naped Amazon
Amazona auropalliata
Also called Yellow-naped parrot, Golden-naped amazon
From The Pacific slope of Central America, from Oaxaca in southern Mexico to north-western Costa Rica, plus the Bay Islands and the Mosquito Coast of Honduras and Nicaragua. It lives in dry and evergreen forest, woodland, gallery forest and semi-arid country.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Feathered; medium-large, short-tailed parrot
A mainly green Amazon with a green forehead and crown and a bright yellow band across the back of the neck, which is the feature that gives it its name. The size of the yellow patch varies between subspecies and individuals. The beak and feet are dark grey, the eyes are orange, and the tail has a reddish to dark green band. Young birds have no yellow on the head or neck.123
Personality what they are like
Yellow-naped Amazons are famous for clear, plentiful speech and are often ranked among the very best talking Amazons. They are social, playful birds that enjoy lots of interaction. They are not constantly noisy, but when they call they are loud. Calm handling, plenty of chewing outlets and consistent routines suit them well.32
Daily activity how busy a day looks
High. Needs lots of playtime and exercise outside the cage every day, plus bird-safe chewing toys and activities.32
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Provide a steady supply of safe chew toys and handle the bird when it is calm and relaxed.2
Home where they are happiest
A large, sturdy cage with a play area; World Parrot Trust suggests aviaries of at least 3 m in length.13
Food basics what goes in the bowl
A balanced formulated diet (pellets or similar) with plenty of vegetables and fruit, keeping fatty foods as treats. Wild birds eat seeds, figs and other fruits, and on the Bay Islands they feed on pine cones.31
Company who they like around
Very social and needs daily time with its people. Wild pairs stay together through the breeding season and call in coordinated duets.32
The story where it all began
Lesson described the species in 1842, and it has long been one of the most sought-after Amazons for its speaking ability. In the wild its numbers have fallen sharply, so it is now protected under CITES Appendix I.21
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Wild yellow-naped Amazons have regional 'dialects': their calls change at clear geographic boundaries, and birds respond less to calls from another dialect.2
- 2
Mated pairs perform duets, precisely timed call sequences that follow their own rules of order.2
- 3
Birds on the Bay Islands of Honduras feed on pine cones.1
- 4
A rare blue colour mutation exists in captivity, with a white nape patch instead of yellow.3
Recognised by the official bits
- Taxonomy
- Described by Lesson in 1842. Sometimes treated as a subspecies of the yellow-crowned amazon (A. ochrocephala). Three subspecies: A. a. auropalliata, A. a. parvipes and A. a. caribaea.2
- IUCN Red List
- Critically Endangered.1
- CITES
- Appendix I.1
- Aviculture
- Described as fairly common in captivity and prized for its talking ability.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Yellow-naped Amazon. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh food and waterevery day
- Cage linerevery day
- Full cleanevery week
- Bath offerevery 3 days
- Nails checkevery month
- Beak checkevery month
- EnrichmentPuzzles and foraging every dayevery day
- Out-of-cage timeAbout 3 hours a dayevery day
- Vet check-upevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Yellow-naped Amazon - World Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia parrots.orgused for names, subspecies, size, weight, range, habitat, plumage, wild diet, lifespan, conservation, aviculture
- Yellow-naped amazon - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for taxonomy, subspecies, behaviour, vocal dialects, duetting, care notes
- Yellow-Naped Amazon - Lafeber lafeber.comused for talking ability, temperament, noise, exercise, diet, lifespan, colour mutation
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.