Red-Lored Amazon

We were in Tikal NP in Guatemala with our guide, Rony. We were sitting among some Mayan ruins, sitting on square rock benches, when I notice a parrot standing ahead of us in a tree. I'd reviewed the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America on our flight down and I'd taken notice of the red-lored amazon, also known as the red-lored parrot. I asked Rony if that was what it was and he concurred. One of only a few birds I saw first, before Rony. 

The plumage is primarily green, with a blue crown, red lores (the area between the eye and the base of the upper bill), and an orange-red speculum (an iridescent patch on the secondary wing feathers). You can see part of the red speculum in the photos on the wings just above the branch where the feet are standing. There are two subspecies. We saw ssp. autumnalis, the nominate ssp., which has yellow upper cheeks that extend to the ear coverts and a white eye-ring. It is found on the Caribbean slope of eastern Mexico to northern Nicaraugua and Bay islands. Ssp. salvini has yellowish-green upper cheeks and ear-coverts and a pale yellow eye-ring. 

Illustration of ssp. autumnalis from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

They are common pets in the Americas and can live 80 years. There are also naturalized feral populations in Los Angeles and Orange, San Diego and Riverside Counties in California.