Kawall's Amazon (Amazona kawalli) — Vorstman's Guide to the Birds of the Andes and West Coast

Voice

Loud, harsh calls that differ from those of Mealy Amazon; the repertoire is still poorly described.

Listen: CallXC486830

Recording: Dante Buzzetti — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto

Identification

35–36 cm, with a short, square tail. The plumage is bright green, without the powdery bloom of Mealy Amazon. There is a bare white patch of skin at the base of the bill; the eye-ring is narrow and grey. The wing has a red speculum; the tail has red at the base of the outer feathers and a yellowish-green terminal band. The bill is horn-coloured. The sexes are alike.

Confusion species

Mealy Amazon Amazona farinosa is larger, with a broad white eye-ring and a powdery back, and has no bare patch at the base of the bill. Yellow-crowned Amazon Amazona ochrocephala has yellow on the forehead and crown and red at the bend of the wing. Festive Amazon Amazona festiva has a blue brow and a red rump.

Habitat

Humid lowland forest, especially permanently flooded forest and forest edges along rivers. It eats fruit and seeds in the canopy. Little is known about breeding; the nest is presumably in a tree cavity.

Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.

Range and movements

Known from the Brazilian Amazon basin, in the states of Amazonas and Pará, mainly south of the Amazon. Not confirmed in the guide area; occurrence in eastern Peru or northern Bolivia, close to the Brazilian border, is conceivable but unproven, and records may stem from confusion with Mealy Amazon. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador and the Galápagos.

Resident
dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Density map from the occurrence records of GBIF (2006-10-01 – 2026-09-30), counted per 1.41° grid cell and per month and divided by all bird records in that same cell — so the number of birdwatchers does not shape the picture. Colour depth follows that share and fades out gradually, so the map does not follow national borders. Country outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).

How and when to look

In eastern Peru and northern Bolivia, check Mealy Amazons for a white patch at the base of the bill and red at the base of the tail, and document records with photographs or sound recordings.

Conservation status

Least Concern. The population is declining through deforestation in Amazonia, and some birds are trapped for the trade.

Scientific name

Amazona kawalli | Grantsau & Camargo, 1989

Grantsau & Camargo described the species in 1989 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Amazona was introduced in 1830 by Lesson. The genus name is a Latinised form of Amazone, the name the French naturalist Buffon gave these parrots in the 18th century, believing they came from the Amazon jungles. The species name honours the Brazilian bird keeper Nelson Kawall, who received some unusual amazons that led to the species being recognised. The specimen the first description was based on came from Brazil.