What Is the National Bird of St Lucia? Key Facts and Meaning

The national bird of Saint Lucia is the Saint Lucia Parrot, locally known as the Jacquot (scientific name: Amazona versicolor). It was officially designated as the national bird in 1979, the same year Saint Lucia gained independence and adopted its coat of arms, where the Jacquot appears as one of the two supporters.

Meet the Jacquot: what it looks like

The Saint Lucia Parrot is a medium-sized parrot, measuring around 43 cm (roughly 17 inches) in length. Its body is predominantly green, which gives it good camouflage in the dense rainforest canopy. The features that really set it apart are its face and chest: a cobalt blue forehead that fades through turquoise on the cheeks, and a vivid scarlet breast. Yellow and violet patches add extra colour to the wings. Together, that combination of green, blue, turquoise, red, and yellow makes it one of the more striking parrots in the Caribbean.

It is entirely endemic to Saint Lucia, meaning you will not find it in the wild anywhere else on the planet. That exclusivity is a big part of why it was the obvious choice as a national symbol.

Why Saint Lucia chose the Jacquot

A national bird tends to say something about the country it represents, and the Jacquot does exactly that for Saint Lucia. Being found only on the island ties the bird directly to Saint Lucian identity in a way that no shared or migratory species ever could. It belongs to Saint Lucia and nowhere else.

The choice also carried a practical conservation message. By the late 1970s the population of Amazona versicolor had declined sharply due to habitat loss and hunting. Elevating the parrot to national symbol status was a deliberate signal that the island was serious about protecting it. The government backed up the symbolism with real action: a parrot reserve was established and hunting was banned. The national-bird designation gave people a reason to care about the species as part of their own national identity, not just as wildlife.

When and how it became the national bird

The Jacquot was officially designated as Saint Lucia's national bird in 1979. That year was a pivotal one for the island: Saint Lucia gained full independence from Britain, and the coat of arms was formally adopted on 8 January 1979. The coat of arms features the Saint Lucia Parrot as a supporter alongside the Amazonian Parrot, and the official coat-of-arms text names it directly: 'Saint Lucia Parrot commonly called Jacquot (Amazona versicolor).' The national-bird designation and the independence moment are essentially bound together, which gives the Jacquot a deeper layer of meaning beyond just wildlife symbolism.

The coat of arms carries the national motto 'The Land, The People, The Light,' and the presence of the Jacquot in the emblem connects the island's natural heritage to that broader vision of national identity.

Cultural stories and the name 'Jacquot'

The name 'Jacquot' is deeply embedded in Saint Lucian everyday life. It is not a formal scientific label but the affectionate local name that Saint Lucians have used for the parrot for generations. The fact that the official government coat-of-arms description includes 'commonly called Jacquot' shows how seriously that cultural name is taken at the national level.

The conservation campaign that followed the 1979 designation leaned heavily on that cultural connection. An educational travelling program called the 'Jacquot Express' was created to spread awareness about protecting the species, bringing the national-bird message directly to communities across the island. Using the parrot's beloved local name for the program was a smart move: it framed conservation as something personal and Saint Lucian, not an outside imposition.

In the broader Caribbean context, Saint Lucia is part of a group of islands that have chosen endemic or regionally significant birds as national symbols. Trinidad and Tobago, for example, designated the Scarlet Ibis and the Cocrico, while Guyana chose the Canje Pheasant (Hoatzin) and Grenada the Grenada Dove. The Scarlet Ibis, in particular, is Trinidad's national bird, chosen for its significance to the country's wildlife identity. If you are looking for Grenada's national bird, it's the Grenada Dove Grenada the Grenada Dove. Trinidad and Tobago also has its own national bird question, including whether the hummingbird is recognized as one is the hummingbird a national bird of trinidad and tobago. In Guyana, the national bird is the Canje Pheasant, also known as the Hoatzin what is the national bird of guyana. Trinidad and Tobago’s national bird is the Scarlet Ibis. Like those choices, the Jacquot reflects both ecological uniqueness and a strong sense of local pride.

How to spot the Jacquot and where to learn more

If you want to see the Saint Lucia Parrot in the wild, you need to head into the island's central rainforest. The Government of Saint Lucia specifically notes that the bird may be seen flying across the forests of Quilesse, Millet, and Edmund. These montane rainforest areas are the heart of the Jacquot's territory, and they are also where the parrot reserve is located.

The Millet Bird Sanctuary is one of the best practical starting points. It is managed as a birding destination with trails, and it sits right in the habitat where the Jacquot is most reliably seen. The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority also organises birdwatching in the central rainforest reserve, which is where the bulk of endemic species are concentrated, making it a worthwhile stop even if the Jacquot proves elusive on a given morning.

For research and further reading, the Government of Saint Lucia's official national symbols pages are the most authoritative source for the bird's formal status and description. The World Parrot Trust maintains detailed species profiles for Amazona versicolor if you want deeper biological information. And if you are interested in how the conservation story unfolded after 1979, the American Museum of Natural History has documented the recovery effort, including the Jacquot Express program, as a case study in linking national symbolism to wildlife protection.