How to Buy an Amazon Parrot in the United States | PetzLover

Which Amazon parrots are sold as pets, and how do they compare?

VCA Animal Hospitals describes Amazons as stocky, medium-sized birds with strong beaks and short, rounded tails, and names the double yellow-headed, yellow-naped, blue-fronted, green-cheeked (red-crowned) and orange-winged among common pets.

The white-fronted Amazon is the small one: about 10 inches and 188 to 242 grams, with loud, varied calls (World Parrot Trust). Merck notes that Amazons can be moody and often bond closely to one person, and VCA warns that this one-to-one bond occasionally leads to aggression toward others.

How loud is an Amazon parrot, and does it suit your home?

Merck says most Amazons are loud, and VCA notes that some squawk loudly in the early morning and late afternoon, so visit at those times. If you rent or share walls, check your lease first.

• Cage: PetMD gives at least 36 by 24 by 48 inches for one Amazon-sized bird, with bars ¾ to 1 inch apart.
• Time out: VCA says Amazons are very playful and enjoy climbing and chewing, so plan daily supervised time out of the cage.
• Diet: VCA advises pellets as about 60 to 70 percent of the diet, with fruit under 10 percent.
• Hormones: VCA says Amazons are known to show mating-season aggression toward their owners. Dr. Susan Clubb, an avian veterinarian, writes that males in breeding condition can be very aggressive to keepers, and puts the North American breeding season roughly from February or March to June or July.

How can you tell which Amazon species a listing is?

Many listings say only Amazon, and young birds make it harder: they often show less color than adults, and Clubb notes that juveniles have brown eyes where adults have orange-yellow ones. Ask for daylight photos of the head, wings and tail, and compare them with these points:

• Blue-fronted or orange-winged: the blue-fronted has a blue forehead, yellow face and red wing patch; the orange-winged has a yellow forehead and cheeks, violet-blue between the eyes and an orange wing patch.
• The yellow-headed group: an adult double yellow-headed has yellow over the whole head; a yellow-naped, a yellow patch on the back of the neck; a yellow-crowned, yellow on the forehead and crown. Their young look alike: yellow-napes are mostly all green until about 3 to 5 years old (Clubb), and young double yellow-heads and yellow-crowns show yellow only on the forehead or crown (World Parrot Trust).
• Red-lored or lilac-crowned: the red-lored has a bright red forehead and a violet-blue crown; the lilac-crowned has a maroon forehead, green cheeks and lilac-blue from the back of the crown down the neck.
• White-fronted: a white forehead and red around the eyes; adult males have red on the wing edge, females green.

A seller who calls an all-green youngster a yellow-nape should be able to show both parents. Most Amazons cannot be sexed by sight, so ask for a DNA sexing certificate.

Is it legal to buy an Amazon parrot in the US?

• Imports: the Wild Bird Conservation Act has barred most imports of CITES-listed birds since 1993. The World Parrot Trust lists heavy trapping for the bird trade among the threats to the yellow-headed Amazon, so buy only a US-bred bird, ideally with a closed leg band, and walk away from one described as wild-caught.
• CITES: most Amazons are on Appendix II, while the yellow-naped, double yellow-headed and lilac-crowned are on Appendix I. CITES controls trade between countries, not a sale between two US residents, but any export needs CITES documents.
• Endangered Species Act: the common pet Amazons, including the yellow-naped and double yellow-headed, are not on the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife (checked November 2026). A few rare ones are: the endangered Cuban parrot cannot be sold across state lines without a federal permit, while the threatened yellow-billed parrot of Jamaica has a special rule allowing interstate sales.
• State and local rules: these vary, so check with your state wildlife or agriculture agency and your landlord or HOA.

Where can you find Amazon parrots for sale, and what should you ask?

VCA says hand-raised babies often make better pets because they are fully socialized with people, while an adult from a rescue lets you hear its voice and see its temperament first; see how to adopt an Amazon parrot or how to take in a rehomed Amazon parrot. On PetzLover you can browse Amazon parrots for sale, filter by location, save a search and message the seller before you visit.

1. Which species is it, and which species are both parents?
2. When did it hatch, and is it fully weaned and eating on its own?
3. What is on the closed leg band, and is there a microchip?
4. Has it been DNA sexed?
5. Which avian vet has examined it, and what was tested?
6. What does it eat now? Pellets and vegetables are a good answer; seed only is not.
7. Can I visit to hear it, and will you give a written health guarantee?

Put the species, hatch date, band number, sex and price on a signed bill of sale. Breeders can see what you will expect in how to sell Amazon parrots; for a bird offered free, read how to get a free Amazon parrot safely.

How much does an Amazon parrot cost in the US?

A bargain Amazon that must be shipped is a warning sign. The Better Business Bureau warns about fake bird sellers who take a first payment and then demand more for shipping or crates; the FTC advises paying by credit card, never by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency. Use the Report Scam button on any suspicious listing.

How do you check an Amazon's health before and after you buy?

VCA says every new bird should be examined by a veterinarian familiar with birds and that Amazons need check-ups twice a year; the Association of Avian Veterinarians has a Find-a-Vet search. Keep a new Amazon away from your other birds until it is cleared, because the CDC notes that birds can carry psittacosis without looking sick.

• Weight and diet: ask for the weight in grams and the diet; VCA links all-seed diets in Amazons to vitamin A deficiency and upper respiratory disease.
• Feathers and warts: VCA says feather-destructive behavior is common in Amazons, and cloacal papillomas commonly affect older birds.