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12 
Any Hope For Dominica's Parrots? 
by Arlington James 
Photos by: Arlington James 
T ime and again, Dominica’s for¬ 
ests have been described as 
lush, verdent and the richest in 
the Eastern Caribbean. These are 
accurate descriptions, for although the island 
has an area of only 289.8 square miles, and 
is located many miles from the American 
mainland, the rugged topography of 
Dominica presents a land mass which sup¬ 
ports a wide variety of forest types. 
Only 29 miles long by 16 miles “across 
the mid-section”, Dominica can justifiably 
boast of having some of the richest rain 
forest any where in the Lesser Antilles. Also 
represented here are the dry forest and 
littoral woodlands found on the leeward and 
windward coasts respectively, wind-swept 
montane thicket and elfin woodlands at the 
higher elevations, wetlands, fumerole veg¬ 
etation and dry evergreen forests. 
The variety of vegetation types in 
Dominica also provides a wide range of 
habitat for an equally varied fauna, which 
includes thirteen species of bats, two spe¬ 
cies of frogs (the Crapaud or Mountain 
Chicken and the tree frog), five species of 
snakes (from the 9-foot Boa Constrictor to 
the 6-inch Thread Snake), lizards, crusta¬ 
ceans (e.g., crabs and crayfish), and of 
course a wide variety of birds. 
The bird life of Dominica has been de¬ 
scribed as the most diverse in the Eastern 
Caribbean, with about 162 species recorded 
on the island to date. And of the fifty-nine 
species of resident birds, the island’s two 
endemic species of parrots have received 
the most attention. 
Two of the four species of parrots found 
in the Windward Islands inhabit the forests 
of Dominica. The Sisserou or Imperial Par¬ 
rot (Amazona imperialis) is the largest of the 
Amazon parrots. It is about 20 inches long 
and its deep purple breast makes it stand 
Jaco or Red-Necked Parrot 
(Amazona arausiaca) 
out among the rest of its genus. The Jaco 
or Red-necked Parrot (Amazona arausiaca), 
though a bit smaller, generally has a more 
colourful plumage than its cousin the 
Sisserou. It is interesting to note that the red 
patch at the front of the neck of the Jaco, 
giving it its common name, is sometimes 
absent, or may be mixed with a tinge of 
yellow. 
There is an overlap in the areas which 
these two species of parrots occupy. The 
Sisserou tends to utilize the lower mountain 
and rain forest, and the Jaco may be found 
at even lower elevations and in the rain 
forests. Both species nest in the cavities of 
old growth forest trees, laying one or two 
eggs during the nesting season. 
13 
