Ask a room of long-standing parrot keepers which species talks best and the Yellow-nape will be in every answer. Not the largest vocabulary - a budgie holds that record - but the clearest voice, the best timing and the most convincing use of language of any parrot commonly kept. People who have heard a good one never forget it.
What the talking costs
The same intelligence that produces the speech produces a bird that manipulates a household. Yellow-napes learn which sounds get a reaction and use them deliberately - calling in a family member's voice to see who comes, imitating a phone, learning that a particular shriek ends an unwanted situation. This is genuinely charming and it also means the bird is training you while you think you are training it. Consistency matters more with this species than with almost any other.
Hormonal season
Yellow-napes have the same seasonal change as other Amazons and are often described as the most intense about it. From around four to six years old, expect weeks or months each year of territorial behaviour, lunging and a fierce preference for one person. Twelve hours of dark sleep, no petting below the neck, handling away from the cage. It passes and it returns.
Noise
Very loud. Dawn and dusk calling that carries a long way, and a bird that has learned a screech works will use it. Not a flat bird and not a bird for a shared wall.
Paperwork
Protected species, sold with documentation. Ask what paperwork comes with the bird, get it in writing before you pay, and keep it. Rules change by jurisdiction - check with the breeder rather than trusting a web page.
Weight and diet
As with every Amazon: prone to obesity and fatty liver. A pelleted base, plenty of vegetables, nuts and seed as treats.
Fifty to sixty years
Plan for the bird outliving you, and write the arrangement down.
Who should have one
Somebody who wants a conversational partner rather than an ornament, who has the room and the neighbours for the volume, who will be consistent with a very clever animal, and who is not going to be shocked when a beloved bird has a difficult spring. For that person there is no better parrot.
Buying one
Ask how the breeder handles hormonal season. Ask how many people have handled the bird. Ask when it weaned, ask about disease testing, and ask for the documentation. The breeders listed on this page raise Yellow-naped Amazons and can be contacted directly through the site.