Red-tailed Amazon

The red-tailed amazon (Amazona brasiliensis), also known as the red-tailed parrot, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is native to the Serra do Mar coastal forests. The bird has been threatened by habitat loss and capture for the wild bird trade, and is a symbol of the efforts to conserve one of the Earth's most biologically diverse ecosystems. Consequently, it is considered Near Threatened by BirdLife International and the IUCN. In 1991–92, the population had fallen below 2000 individuals. Following on-going conservation efforts, a count and estimate from 2015 suggests a population of 9,000–10,000, indicating that this species is recovering from earlier persecution. A recent study shows that the population of this species is stable at Paraná state, Southern Brazil, revealing population trend fluctuation during the last 12 years. == Taxonomy == In 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red-tailed amazon in the fourth volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Brazilian green parrot". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a live bird that was displayed at the shop of a bird-cage maker in London. When in 1758 the Swedish…