Poaching for the international pet trade has driven the species to near-extinction in the wild; around half of all wild-caught birds are thought to die in the process.

[9][10][11]According to the traditional split, A. oratrix includes the taxa tresmariae (from the Tres Marías Islands), belizensis (from Belize) and hondurensis (from the Sula Valley in northern Honduras) as subspecies.

In adults, the head and upper chest are yellow in the subspecies of the Tres Marías Islands (tresmariae); just the head in the widespread subspecies of Mexico (oratrix); just the crown in Belize (belizensis); and the crown and nape in the Sula Valley of Honduras (hondurensis, which thus resembles the yellow-naped parrot).

[15] Some "extreme" Magnas have as much yellow as Tres Marías birds, but are distinguished from them by heavier barring on the chest and a less bluish tint to the green plumage.

[16] Wild birds give low-pitched, sometimes human-sounding screams, but often fly silently (unlike many other parrots).

The range formerly included both coastal slopes of Mexico from the Tres Marías Islands and Jalisco to Oaxaca and from Nuevo León to northern Chiapas and southwestern Tabasco, as well as a disjunct area including most of Belize, and another comprising a small part of northeastern Guatemala and northwestern Honduras.

[20] The yellow-headed amazon is considered endangered by the IUCN, and is listed under CITES Appendix I, which regulates the international trade of the species including those bred in captivity through a permitting system.

There is an approved CITES Captive breeding program established for this species near Canberra in Australia, located at Priam Psittaculture Centre.

Providing a sustainable managed breeding program to assist elevating pressures on wild populations for use in avicultural, research and pets.https://cites.org/eng/common/reg/cb/AU The popularity of yellow-headed amazons as a pet continues to fuel poaching efforts, which have nearly driven it to extinction in the wild.

The situation for tresmariae, which potentially can be treated as a separate species, is unclear, but its very small range gives cause for concern and some reports indicate it is under considerable threat.

[21] Though only captive-bred yellow-headed amazons may be owned, these are widely available (if somewhat expensive) and their personalities make them highly desirable pets; they have been kept as such for centuries[22] because they are among the parrots that "talk" best.

Yellow-headed amazons in captivity appear to have an affinity for both singing and the learning of song – and a naturally powerful, operatic voice.

It is possible, albeit difficult, to mitigate this behavior by ensuring that the bird receives regular and equal attention from other members of the household.

[29] The World Parrot Trust recommends that yellow-headed amazons be kept in an enclosure with a minimum length of 3 metres at a temperature no lower than 10°C.