How threatened in the wild is the Grey-breasted Parakeet?

In 1644 a Dutch artist painted an image which turned out to be the first record of the Grey-breasted Parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus), a severely threatened species endemic to north-eastern Brazil. The parakeet was formally...

Poachers positively select parrot species based on their attractiveness

News has arrived about a phenomenon that many of us suspected was true, but in practice has remained unexamined objectively until now, not least due to the difficulties of estimating species abundances in the wild. Poachers do...

Another landmark event for Philippine Cockatoo conservation

Exciting news has recently arrived of a landmark event in the Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program (PCCP), the long-term endeavour to bring-about the recovery of this ‘Critically Endangered’ species endemic to the...

Record year for endangered Yellow-naped Amazon babies in Nicaragua project

Good news is always welcome in these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and such news has recently arrived from Paso Pacífico, a Nicaraguan NGO engaged in conservation activities in that country. Paso Pacífico’s mission...

Swift Parrot decline in Hobart substantiates gloomy predictions for the species

You must really like Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) if throughout sixteen years you make a grand total of 20,155 observations of them. This accolade goes to Dr. Andrew Hingston of the University of Tasmania, who observed the...

The costs and rewards of conserving the Lear’s Macaw

How much does it cost to save from extinction a parrot, or any other species for that matter? There is no straight-forward answer because of the complexity...

Nest-box revolution for wild Grey-breasted Parakeets

In 2007 the Brazilian NGO Aquasis conducted museum research and exhaustive field expeditions in its historically reported distribution in north-east Brazil. The search was instigated due to the alarming decline in the area of...

The Yellow-crested Cockatoo clings-on to its eastern fringe

Imagine searching for a very rare species on scores of islands in an area of the tropics measuring 1,400 km between its north and south extremes, and the same distance again between its most eastern and western limits. Would...

The 20th Anniversary of “Proyecto Ognorhynchus”: Back from the abyss, the Yellow-eared Parrot unites a nation

Please raise a glass to the beautiful Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), because 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of a remarkable project to save a species teetering on the edge of extinction, following its rediscovery...

Monitoring, protection, rescue and release help the Yellow-headed Parrots of Belize

“They’re curious about what’s going on, and so they fly in close to take a good look”. Mario Muschamp, land manager of TIDE, is making reference to the wild resident Yellow-headed Parrots (Amazona oratrix belizensis)...