First sighting of eggs and chicks of the red-necked Amazon parrot (Amazonaarausiaca) using an intra-cavity video probe

Two clutches of the red-necked Amazon parrot, or Jaco (Amazona arausiaca), are described for the first time from intra-cavity video recordings of natu ral nests in Dominican rainforest trees. Using a mini-camera mounted on a t elescoping pole, a clutch of two live chicks (similar to 8 weeks old) and o ne dead chick (similar to 5 weeks old at time of death), and another clutch of one live chick (similar to 4 weeks old) and two unhatched eggs were dis covered in nesting cavities roughly 15 m from the ground in Carapite (Amano a caribaea) and Gommier (Dacryodes excelsa) trees, respectively, near 600 m elevation. Information from these sightings is essential for quantifying t he life history of the Jaco, a flagship species for Dominica's imperiled ra inforest ecosystem. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.