Home range and movements of juvenile Puerto Rican parrots

We studied home range and movements of 15 radio-marked, juvenile Puerto Rican parrots (Amazona vittata) fledging from wild nests during summer and fall, 1985-87. When juvenile parrots remained in the nest valley, home ranges during 1986 (.hivin.x = 32 .+-. 10 [SE] ha, n = 4) were larger (P = 0.0079) than during 1987 (.hivin.x = 13 .+-. 6 ha, n = 5). After radio-marked parrots integrated into adult flocks, home ranges during 1986 (.hivin.x = 1,075 .+-. 135 ha, n = 3) were similar (P = 0.10) to 1987 (.hivin.x = 416 .+-. 62 ha, n = 2). Juvenile parrots restricted their movements to nest valleys an average of 58 .+-. 29 days following fledging. After joining adult flocks, juvenile parrots routinely flew between the east and west slopes of the Luquillo Mountains but did not exhibit a seaonal pattern of movement. We recommend that captive-raised, juvenile parrots used in release programs be .gtoreq. 5 months old to ensure they are mature enough to integrate into wild flocks.