White-fronted Amazon

How to find it

Look for flocks flying over dry forest and farmland, and listen for loud calls from groups heading to roosts or water. Dawn is a good moment, when birds call from exposed treetops for 10 to 30 minutes before scattering to feed. In late afternoon they gather at staging areas near the roost and call loudly, which draws in other flocks overhead. Roosts shift every 3 to 5 weeks, and oak patches are a favourite sleeping site. The species is often near streams and corn fields.

How to recognise it

This is a small green Amazon parrot, about 25 cm long and roughly 230 g. Look for these marks:

A white forehead.

A red patch around the eye.

A blue crown.

A red bend of the wing, with green plumage elsewhere.

A yellow bill and cere, a pale iris and brownish legs.

Males and females differ. Males show red on the shoulder and wing edge, visible when perched or from below in flight, while females are green there. Females also have the red on the face limited to the eye ring. Young birds show a smaller, yellowish white forehead.

In the Santa Rosa dry forest it is the only dimorphic parrot, clearly smaller than the Yellow-naped Amazon and much larger than the conures and parakeets.

What it sounds like

Recording: Grete Pasch, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Pairs are scattered in the breeding season. Otherwise it forms flocks of 30 to 50 or more, which leave communal roosts to feed. They fly in pairs or flocks with fast wingbeats, usually just above the canopy. They are very noisy flying to roosts or water, but quiet and secretive near the nest.

It nests in natural tree cavities, old woodpecker holes and palm stumps, mainly in the dry season. At dawn the birds climb into exposed treetops and call loudly for 10 to 30 minutes, and only then do feeding groups of 4 to 20 scatter in all directions. Groups constantly join and split, and every change brings a cacophony of calling.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives in the canopy and edges of deciduous and evergreen forest. It also uses open country with scattered trees, savanna, old secondary forest, farmland and semi-urban areas.

It is a resident of the northwest Pacific lowlands and foothills, from sea level up to 1,100 m. It is also reported in the Nicoya Peninsula mountains and west of the Central Valley. Across its whole range it prefers drier woodland, including semi-open areas with tall trees and cacti.

When to see it

It is a resident, so it is present all year, and breeding is mainly in the dry season.

Similar birds

The yellow bill, white forehead and red forewing patch separate it from Mealy, Red-lored and Yellow-naped Parrots. The Red-lored Amazon is the only Costa Rican Amazon with a red forehead, and its calls have a ringing "clink clink" quality. The two can share flocks, so check the forehead.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican sources list Kan-kan (also spelled Cancan), lora and loro frentiblanco, and the first two are shared with the AOCR entry. Other Spanish names include checha, cotorra cabeciblanca and loro frente blanca.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list, and IUCN lists it as Least Concern with an increasing population trend in Costa Rica.

Photography tips

Flocks fly just above the canopy, so watch the treetops at dawn, when birds climb into exposed perches and call for 10 to 30 minutes. Late afternoon staging areas near roosts are another chance to see them calling.