• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
D	D	D1+2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Critically Endangered	D
2018	Critically Endangered	D
2016	Critically Endangered	D
2015	Critically Endangered	D
2013	Critically Endangered	D
2012	Critically Endangered	D
2010	Critically Endangered	D1
2009	Critically Endangered	D1
2008	Critically Endangered
2006	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Critically Endangered
1994	Critically Endangered
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	1,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	16 km2	good
Number of locations	2	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1-49 mature individuals	medium	suspected	2018
Population trend	increasing	good	estimated	2000-2010
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	1-19%	-	-	-
Generation length	14.14 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-

Population justification: As of 2011, the population numbered c.50-70 individuals spread over two areas, roughly equivalent to 33-47 mature individuals. In 2013, this had increased to c.80-100 individuals in the wild (64-84 at Río Abajo and 15-20 at El Yunque). However, following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 large areas of habitat were destroyed and the impact on the species's population remains uncertain. The population at El Yunque has not yet been found in its former range, and 17 out of 22 individuals that had recently been released with transmitters have been found dead (Paravisini-Gebert 2018); there are not currently believed to be any birds in the wild in this region. The Río Abajo population has fared much better and persisted successfully despite the hurricanes' impacts, comprising 126-139 individuals by the end of 2019 (M. Lopez-Flores in litt. 2019). The entire Río Abajo population however is derived from released birds, which are not counted as mature individuals until they have bred successfully in the wild (IUCN 2011). Successful breeding has been recorded, including post-Hurricane Maria (Gilardi 2018), and the size and range of the flock has been witnessed to be increasing however, due to the late age of first breeding in this species, it is likely that the majority of the population still comprises introduced individuals (Breining 2009; Valentin 2009; T. White in litt. 2012). As a result, the total number of mature individuals remains uncertain and is tentatively assumed to remain below 50 due to the large proportion of reintroduced individuals and severe impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Trend justification: An increase of 1-19% was estimated to have occurred over the last ten years, based on regular counts of the total wild population, largely as the result of successful reintroductions from the Iguaca and Río Abajo aviaries (M. Lopez-Flores in litt. 2019). However, following the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria that hit the island in 2017, the population in El Yunque is considered to have been lost (Paravisini-Gebert 2018) whilst contrastingly, the population in Río Abajo persists and is likely increasing (Milpacher 2017; M. Lopez-Flores in litt. 2019). The overall impact of these hurricanes, and concurrent ongoing reintroductions, therefore remains uncertain and the population trend is considered unclear.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Puerto Rico (to USA)	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Puerto Rico (to USA)	El Yunque
Puerto Rico (to USA)	Karso del Norte

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Altitude	200 - 600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Whole (>90%)		No decline		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Herpestes auropunctatus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus rattus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Buteo jamaicensis	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Margarops fuscatus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Competition, Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Puerto Rican Amazon Amazona vittata. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/puerto-rican-amazon-amazona-vittata on 24/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 24/12/2024.