Save the parrots

Parrots are popular pets throughout the world, loved for their rich plumage, intelligence, and ability to mimic sounds. But their popularity puts their future in danger.

Habitat destruction

Many species of parrot have become extinct over the last two centuries, and others are close to extinction today. The most serious threat is the loss of their natural habitat. Parrots live primarily in for-ests. The felling of the trees that provide their food and nesting sites makes survival difficult. The red-tailed ama-zon and the golden-tailed parrot face this problem as a result of heavy felling of the Atlantic forests of southeast Brazil.

The reduction of the habitat may not in itself result in the extinction of a species, but it is often the underlying cause. Loss of habitat makes parrots more vulnerable to predators.

The Pet trade

For thousands of years people have kept parrots as pets. Today millions of parrots live in captivity, many owned by collectors in North America, Europe, and Japan. At least 600,000 parrots a year are shipped abroad, most cap-tured from the wild.

Because the pet trade is such a profitable business, traders use drastic and some-times illegal methods to trap and transport parrots. Trapping expeditions to remote locations decrease the num-bers of rare species, making them more prized by col-lectors. Traders sometimes catch chicks by first cutting down the nesting tree and killing the parents. They may transport the parrots over several days without food or water in cramped boxes.

It is believed that for every wild parrot reaching a pet shop, 4 to 10 others die.

Other threats

In many parts of the world, parrots are popular prey for hunters. The macaw is con-sidered a delicacy and is easy to hunt because of its size.

Hunting is a relatively small-scale threat, but to an already-dwindling popula-tion like the Caribbean amazon parrots, it can have devastating effects.

Parrots-particularly island species-also suffer when non-native animals are brought into their habitats. For instance, the Mauritius parakeet, whose population numbered less than 11 in 1985, now has to compete for nest sites with intro-duced parakeets and mynahs. Rats and monkeys formerly found only on the mainland now raid its nests.

Controlling the trade

The Convention on Interna-tional Trade in Endangered Species was established in 1973 to regulate the sale of wild animals. Enforcement of the regulations for parrots has been difficult.

Smugglers often tape parrots’ beaks and feet, then stuff the birds into hiding plac-es, even though many par-rots die as a result. The smug-glers still make huge profits from the surviving birds.

Conservation measures

Controlling the sale of parrots is not enough to save them from extinction. Conservationists must also actively improve conditions for the birds in the wild. Sometimes even wildlife reserves cannot provide suitable enough environ-ments. For instance, Puerto Rican amazon

parrots nest in large, old trees, but such trees are becoming rare now. So specialists have created carefully disguised artificial nest boxes. They have also altered natural holes in the nesting trees to keep out rats and competing birds. The kakapo, a large, flightless parrot of New Zealand, is so vulnerable that scientists relocated all surviving birds to two small islands com-pletely free of predators. Captive breeding programs may increase the numbers of the most endangered species. The parrots will be released back into the wild when conditions are more favor-able. Several species, such as the Puerto Rican, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent amazons, have bred well in these programs.

Endangered parrots

Some varieties of parrots have populations of less than a few hundred birds. Listed here are some that may soon become extinct without immediate intervention. Their ranges and the principal causes for their decline are also provided.

1. Paradise parrot, Pse-photus pulcherrimus; Austra-lia. Habitat loss, pet trade.
2. Red-necked amazon, Amazono arausioca; Domin-ica, British West Indies. Habitat loss, hurricanes.
3. Orange-fronted parakeet, Cyonoramphus malherbi; New Zealand. Habitat loss.
4. Mauritius parakeet, Psittacula eques; Mauritius. Habitat loss, competition, predators.
5. Lear’s macaw, Anodo-rhynchus lean; Brazil. Pet trade.
6. Spix’s macaw, Cyanospitta spixii; Brazil. Pet trade.
7. Red-tailed amazon, Amanzono brasiliensis; Brazil. Habitat loss.