I need a sincere advice on these parrots please- Is it mealy or yellow naped

[Moody]

Here is a picture of both of mine. The Yellow Nape is going on 14 years, and the DYH is 9 months in that picture.

Hey Wendy,

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. Your birds are awesome. The YNA has a very small amount of yellow on the nape at 14 yrs, I think this is auropalliata too, correct? Seems to be common in auropalliata's to have that less amount of yellow?

last question please, Since you are biased Which one is the best talker in your opinion/experience please? I'm not selecting a bird or measuring it by talking ability only, just curious as I always hear that YNA are much more talkative than DYH or other zonz, is that correct at least in your own experience with your birds?

Again, I appreciate your inputs. Thanks

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hey Wendy,

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it. Your birds are awesome. The YNA has a very small amount of yellow on the nape at 14 yrs, I think this is auropalliata too, correct? Seems to be common in auropalliata's to have that less amount of yellow?

last question please, Since you are biased Which one is the best talker in your opinion/experience please? I'm not selecting a bird or measuring it by talking ability only, just curious as I always hear that YNA are much more talkative than DYH or other zonz, is that correct at least in your own experience with your birds?

Again, I appreciate your inputs. Thanks

Hunter (my YN) is a mix between Auropalliata and Parvipes. And she has only VERY little yellow in her neck. She does, however, have red in the bend of her wings.

As for talking, both of mine are phenomenal talkers, no kidding. I'm sure Sam (DYH) has picked up LOTS from Hunter, but he is a super quick learner. The other night I was playing with him on the couch, and I said "GOOD BOY". Sam looked at me, and replied "GOOD BOY." That was the first time he's said it THAT cleary. Then he picked up "I love you" (as clear as day) 2 days later. They both LOVE to sing, too. AND whistle.

 

[JerseyWendy]

These pictures were taken a couple of months ago.

Here is Hunter inside her paper bag (she's in breeding mode), and you see the red on the bend of her wings)

And Sam, he's about 7 months in this picture, showing off on top of the cage (he was NOT playing...he meant business :54: )

 

[Merlee]

Honestly, I do not think you can go wrong with owning either one of these. If I could, I, too, would own one of each.

I have owned a yellow nape for 3 weeks as of today and he has already picked up some sentences from me. Some phrases took less than 3 days which blows me away because my macaw takes much longer to learn something new.

 

[weco]

Hello Moody,

The problem of determining species when their coloration is not firmly defined can be difficult, especially when comparing closely related bird families. As you can see from these images. One other thing, mealy Amazons may or may not have some yellow feathering on their head and/or neck, but it will be the bird with the least yellow.

Here is a yellow-naped Amazon:


Yellow-naped Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Yellow-headed Amazon…aka double yellow-headed Amazon:

Yellow-headed Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Mealy Amazon:

Mealy Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Notice the eye ring on the mealy…also, mealy’s have slightly darker green on their wing feathers & if you look at them from a slight distance, they have a blue blush to their coloring.....


Here is a mealy with two yellow-crowned Amazons…you can see the blue blush and the larger eye ring on the mealy:

File:Amazona aestiva2.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The two still images do not really give good comparison photos, but from the video, it might be a mealy, however, the eye ring in your video is more oval than that of a mealy Amazon.....



For me, I would look at the density of the eye rings, the darkness of the wings & the blue blush in the feathering…..
Good luck

 

[Merlee]

This is a great thread, but what I find confusing is since the bird which is being inquired about is only 9 months old, can it really be compared to those photos shown? The younger the bird, the less coloring it has and we have no way of knowing the age of the mature birds shown in the photos. The few things one can truly compare with at any age are the beaks, eyes, and the coloring of the feet. Am I correct with that way of thinking?

 

[Kiwibird]

The easiest way I know of to distinguish between mealys and yellow napes is size of the bird. Of course there are sometimes exceptionally large YN and smaller mealys, but as a rule, mealys are the largest of the amazons. Most zons are about the size of a large pidgeon, mealys however are closer to the size of a large crow. Knowing the length of the bird in the photo or maybe some kind of rough size comparison to common birds would be helpful. In such a young bird, I doubt the amount of yellow on the nape of the neck is going to help. Mealys can have a few random yellow feathers that aren't part of their normal colorations and YN coloration spreads with age. Such a young bird wouldn't have much color spread yet. Also, while I'm not sure about where your from, YN are among the most common amazon breeds you can find, while mealys are much more rare and cost more. I doubt a breeder would try to trick you into buying a more rare and costly bird for the price of a more common breed. That is definately NOT a DYH though, as they have very light pinkish/tan beaks. Really though, parrots are highly intelligent creatures, and every one is an individual. They want to be your lifelong companion, not a status symbol or showpiece. I would think it would be most important that you get along well with the individual bird more than what precise subspecies it is. Blue fronts weren't my top choice of amazon species when we were looking for a bird (I'm a big fan of DYH's, especially the tres' marie mutations, and mealys because of their size) but Kiwi was the perfect match for our family as an individual bird.

 

[wenz2712]

The pic I posted of Codie is him at the same age as the one in the video.

 

[Merlee]

When I went to bird fairs and wanted to buy a yellow nape, I would say the majority of those available for pets were really young because there was no yellow on the back. I didn't know enough about the differences between young amazons or any of the vendors' reputations which made me leery of buying anything so I can identify with Moody.

 

[henpecked]

This is a great thread, but what I find confusing is since the bird which is being inquired about is only 9 months old, can it really be compared to those photos shown? The younger the bird, the less coloring it has and we have no way of knowing the age of the mature birds shown in the photos. The few things one can truly compare with at any age are the beaks, eyes, and the coloring of the feet. Am I correct with that way of thinking?

I agree, beak,cere and feet color are what i look for, the eyes can be deceiving with young zons as they lighten up with age. The DYH in moody's video will yellow with every molt, the areas below the cere surrounding the upper beak should start turning yellow very soon. Similar to Wendy's sam picture. However even describing DYHs the 3 main sub-species DYH,Tres Marie,and Magna the amounts of yellow do differ in the young of each sub-species. A Tres marie or a Magna baby would be oblivious from the DYH A. ochrocephala oratrix. Even though all three have bone colored beak,cere and feet.

 

[weco]

Kiwi, Moody's from Egypt and the 'zons he is looking at are all imported from European breeders, which could account for the possibility of misidentification, as could the possibility of there having been crossbreeding somewhere in a bird's lineage. From his postings, I would say that the shop where these birds are available is much like a pet shop that deals in animals but knows little of their history, leaving Moody to try identifying what is and what is not from online images rather than physical birds.....

 

[Merlee]

It is mentioned above that there could be crossbreeding. Is it possible for a dyh to cross with, say, a yellow nape? Or any 2 amazons if they are set up for it? I'm thinking it's possible because of the variety of mutts or "designer" dogs.

 

[Moody]

Hello Moody,

The problem of determining species when their coloration is not firmly defined can be difficult, especially when comparing closely related bird families. As you can see from these images. One other thing, mealy Amazons may or may not have some yellow feathering on their head and/or neck, but it will be the bird with the least yellow.

Here is a yellow-naped Amazon:


Yellow-naped Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Yellow-headed Amazon…aka double yellow-headed Amazon:

Yellow-headed Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Mealy Amazon:

Mealy Amazon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Notice the eye ring on the mealy…also, mealy’s have slightly darker green on their wing feathers & if you look at them from a slight distance, they have a blue blush to their coloring.....


Here is a mealy with two yellow-crowned Amazons…you can see the blue blush and the larger eye ring on the mealy:

File:Amazona aestiva2.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The two still images do not really give good comparison photos, but from the video, it might be a mealy, however, the eye ring in your video is more oval than that of a mealy Amazon.....



For me, I would look at the density of the eye rings, the darkness of the wings & the blue blush in the feathering…..
Good luck

Hello Weco, Thanks for your post. I've already came across these pages, The eye ring on a mealy really don't look like the one that I posted, Mealy has a wider/bigger white eye ring while the one i'm inquiring about has a much smaller gray eye ring hmm, There is a couple of bluish and yellow feathers on it's head not on the wing and there are no blue on the wings at all. Thanks again

 

[Merlee]

Moody, what did you decide?

 

[Moody]

Moody, what did you decide?

Hey Merlee,

To be honest, Still comparing and lost after reading the posts

I trust henpecked, Wendy, you since all of you own a YNA and the high possibility of this one to be a YNA, While considering the opportunity that this can be a hybrid and respecting the others opinons while gathering opinions and votes on it, I'm surprised to hear that mealy costs more than YNA in the USA as Kiwibird said, I can see them online for sale within the US for 800-900 (Mealy) and $900-$1200 for YNA.

To be honest, I always wanted a yellow naped amazon, And for that price I deserve to get a pure one not a hybrid so doing my best researching this to the best, Otherwise, I will stick with the DYH one to be on the safe side. I will follow henpecked's advice and going to take another look at the YNA wing bends and If i can confirm it has these couple of red bending I will get it, Otherwise I will stick with the DYH one as said. I may not be able to go and take another look until next Tue or so I appreciate any other opinions/thoughts on this.

Some sites says that bluish feathers on the head is normal for YNA immatures which some people on this thread doesn't seem to agree with so I appreciate any clarification on this point please

Yellow-crowned Amazon (Amazona ochrocephala) | Parrot Encyclopedia

======================
B. Yellow-naped or auropalliata group: immatures have no yellow on head or neck; crown washed with blue/green. Bill dark grey. Eye brown
======================

 

[Merlee]

Would you mind telling us how birds are sold in your country? Here in the US, birds are no longer imported so we purchase them either through private parties through ads either online or in the paper. Another opportunity to get them is through bird fairs which are locations rented and various vendors bring birds, toys and anything related which the bird fancier may need like cages and different types of food.

 

[henpecked]

Heck, henpecked just wants a handful of those CITIES permits.

 

[Moody]

Would you mind telling us how birds are sold in your country? Here in the US, birds are no longer imported so we purchase them either through private parties through ads either online or in the paper. Another opportunity to get them is through bird fairs which are locations rented and various vendors bring birds, toys and anything related which the bird fancier may need like cages and different types of food.

Hey Merlee,

Some species are very rare here such as some types of cockatoo, some large macaws, amazons etc, There are some breeders but they are all breeding african greys, some types of cockatoo as well as eclectus and some breed macaws. For these rare birds/pets the only available option to get them is to import/get them via pet importer as in my current situation. There are many blue fronted here in my country as well as orange winged amazons but DYH or YNA are very rare.

For example, A scarlet macaw costs $5000+ in my country while B&G costs 1500 - 2000 , BFA costs $2000 , These prices are for babies though.

imported birds costs more due to shipping costs, cites and paper work etc which i can understand a bit, I hope that someone can breed these species in the country to make it easier. I'm currently restricted to the available ones, There is no other option for me Take it or leave it

 

[Moody]

Heck, henpecked just wants a handful of those CITIES permits.

lol, I can see that you are breeding zons, If you do and if you can ship to Egypt I would rather get it from a reputable breeder than getting that much confused with imported ones as I'm at the moment.

 

[Merlee]

Do birds go through quarantine when they arrive in your country? Are birds sold in private homes or through a store? I love traveling and learning about different cultures. What will you do with the birds you acquire? Egypt has always been a country I would like to visit.