Save the Parrots

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 Facts and Knowledge:

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. Parrots face many threats timber cutting is destroying their natural habitats; the pet trade, hunters, and competition from introduced foreign animals are reducing their populations.  More than 100 of the nearly 330 parrot species are threatened.

The Pet Trade:

The 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 captured from the wild. The Because the pet trade is such a profitable business, traders use drastic and sometimes illegal methods to trap and transport parrots.  Trapping expeditions to remote locations decrease the numbers of rare species, making them more prized by collectors.  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 considered a delicacy and is easy to hunt because of its easy.  Hunting is a relatively small scale threat, but to an already dwindling population like the Caribbean amazon parrots, it can have devastating effects.  Parrots particularly island species also suffer when non native animals are brought into their habitat.  For instance, the Mauritius parakeet, whose population numbered less than 11 in 1985, now has to compete for nest sites has to compete for nest sites with introduced parakeets and mynahs.  Rats and monkeys formerly found only on the mainland raid its nests.

Habitat Destruction:

Many species of parrot have become extinct over the last two years , and others are close to extinction today.  Th. most serious threat is the loss of their natural habitat.  Parrots live primarily in forest.  The felling of the trees that provide their food and nesting sites makes survival difficult.  The red tailed amazon 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 tin the extinction of a species, but it is often the underlying cause.  Loss of habitat makes parrots more vulnerable to predators.

Controlling the Trade:

The Convention of International Trade is 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 places, even though many parrots die as a result.  The smugglers 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 bird in the wild.
Sometimes even wildlife reserves cannot provide suitable enough environments.  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 scientist relocated all surviving birds to two small islands completely free of predators.
A Captive breeding programs may increase the numbers of the most endangered species. The parents will be released back into the wild when conditions are more favorable.  Several species, such as the Puerto Rican, St. Lucia and St. Vincent amazons have bred well in these programs.

Endangered Parrots: Some varieties of parrot have populations of less that a few huddled 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: Psephotus pulcherrimus; Australia.  Habitat loss, pet trade.
#2. Red Necked Amazon: Amazono arausiaca; Domainica, British West Indies. Habitat loss, hurricanes.
#3. Orange Fronted Parakeet: Cyanoramphus malherbi; New Zealand. Habitat loss.
#4. Mauritius Parakeet: Psittacula eques; Mauritius. Habitat loss, competition, predators.
#5. Lears Macaw: Anodorhynchus leari; Brazil. Pet trade.
#6. Spix's Macaw: Cyanospitta spixii; Brazil. Pet Trade
#7. Red Tailed Amazon: Amanzono brasiliensis; Brazil. Habitat loss.

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