ABSTRACT
— If not for human impact, three genera of psittacids (Ara, Aratinga, and Amazona) would be represented today throughout the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The Cayman Islands and Bahamas are the only regions lacking evidence of Ara and Aratinga. Guadeloupe is the only island with possible evidence for the occurrence of a fourth genus, Anodorhynchus. The growing body of information from paleontology, zooarchaeology, and post-Columbian history further suggests that multiple sympatric species of Amazona were widespread. In the other two genera, a single species was typically confined to one major island or a cluster of nearby islands. We suggest that as many as 50 to 60 endemic species of psittacids would occupy the West Indies in the absence of human influence, as compared to the 12 species (3 of Aratinga, 9 of Amazona) that survive today.
