Cuban Amazon - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Traditionally, most authorities have recognize four subspecies of the Cuban Amazon, thereby following the 1928 review by James Lee Peters.

• A. l. leucocephala . Present throughout Cuba, including Isla de la Juventud (formerly known as Isla de Pinos).
• A. l. bahamensis, also called the Bahama Amazon. Two extant populations in the Bahamas; one on the Abaco Islands and one on Great Inagua (with sightings from nearby Little Inagua). Now extirpated populations were present on the Acklins and Crooked Islands and possibly also elsewhere in the Bahamas.
• A. l. caymanensis, also called the Grand Cayman Amazon. Restricted to Grand Cayman Island.
• A. l. hesterna . Now restricted to the island of Cayman Brac, but formerly also on Little Cayman.

A. l. palmarum was thought to be a separate subspecies living in western Cuba (east to Villa Clara Province) and Isla de la Juventud based on differences in the plumage, but in 1928 a re-evaluation indicated that the colour differences were due to age-related variations and that they showed no substantial differences to the specimens obtained from the rest of Cuba (i.e., A. l. leucocephala sensu stricto). The two populations are very similar genetically, but some authorities have maintained that A. l. palmarum is a valid subspecies. A recent review based on morphology and plumage supported the distinction of A. l. palmarum (at least if restricted to the population on Isla de la Juventud), it having a longer wing chord and metatarsus, and a larger rosy pink throat patch than A. l. leucocephala of the Cuban mainland. This review also revealed differences among the populations on the various islands in the Bahamas (some of which had already been pointed out earlier), leading to the suggestion of restricting A. l. bahamensis to the now extirpated population of the Acklins and Crooked Islands, while it was proposed that the two extant populations from the Abaco Islands and the Inagua Islands each represent a new subspecies. The recognition of three subspecies from the Bahamas is also supported by genetics.