The Near Threatened Tucumán Parrot Amazona Tucumana in Bolivia

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Short Communication The Near Threatened Tucuma´ n parrot Amazona tucumana in Bolivia: insights for a global assessment L uis R ivera,Raul R ojas L lanos,Natalia P oliti,Bennett H ennessey and E nrique H. Bucher

Abstract The Tucumań parrot Amazona tucumana is re- sufficient information on the status of the species in the stricted to the southern Yungas mountains, from south- Bolivian portion of its range. eastern Bolivia to north-western Argentina, and has The southern Yungas in Bolivia extends from the Santa undergone intense capture for the pet trade. We provide Cruz Department through the Chuquisaca and Tarija De- updated information on the status of the Bolivian pop- partments to the border with Argentina in the south, covering ulation of the species and past capture levels for the an area c. 530 km long and 70 km wide, and is considered international pet trade. We surveyed 18 sites during the a threatened ecoregion in Bolivia because of forest fragmen- non-breeding season in 2006 and 2007 and recorded a total tation and conversion (Ibisch & Me´rida, 2003). Here we of 1,643 individuals. In the 1980s 5,400 Tucumań parrots provide updated information on the status of the Bolivian were captured for the international pet trade before the population of the Tucumań parrot and assess past capture species was listed on CITES Appendix I. Capture of the levels for the international pet trade. This information, to- Tucumań parrot for local trade appears to continue but at gether with data on the species in Argentina (Rivera et al., a reduced scale. Available evidence from this study and 2007), provides the basis for a global assessment of the from Argentina indicates a need to change the categoriza- conservation status of the Tucumańparrot. tion of the species on the IUCN Red List from Near We conducted a complete literature review, and inter- Threatened to Vulnerable. viewed researchers, to determine the species’ distribution 1 18 Keywords Amazona tucumana, CITES, montane forest, (Table ) and sites to be surveyed. We surveyed sites 1 2 2006 pet trade, Red List, southern Yungas, Tucumań parrot (Fig. , Table ), from August to October and in September 2007, driving and walking along secondary roads, trails and river banks throughout the elevation gra- he Tucumań parrot Amazona tucumana is restricted dient (Pitter & Christiansen, 1995) during the non-breeding Tto the southern Yungas mountains, i.e. the strip of season, when flocks are easier to detect. All individuals seen tropical and subtropical montane forest on the eastern flying or perching were counted. At each site we searched for slopes of the Andes, from south-eastern Bolivia to north- a minimum of 1 day, 3 hours after sunrise and 3 hours before western Argentina (Fjeldså & Krabbe, 1990). The species sunset, at which times parrots are active and noisy and easier formerly underwent intense capture for the pet trade, with to detect (Pizo & Simao, 1997). When a roost was found we 18,641 legally exported from Argentina during 1985–1989 made point counts of unlimited time to estimate the number (Nores & Yzurieta, 1994). In 1990 the species was included of parrots entering or leaving the roost. To avoid overestima- in CITES Appendix I, and thus its international trade was tion (i.e. double counting on successive days) or underestima- banned. Collar & Juniper (1992) included the species on tion (averaging) we used the maximum number of parrots their list of highly threatened parrot species because the 3 reported levels of exports suggested a serious decline. seen in each -hourperiodorateachroostasanestimatorof Recently the status of the Argentinian population of Tucu- numbers at each site. For each site we calculated abundance mań parrot was assessed (Rivera et al., 2007) and the per unit effort, i.e. the total number of individuals recorded per species categorized as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red survey hour. List (BirdLife International, 2008). However, there is in- We conducted interviews with local people who were likely to have information about the parrot trade, checking

LUIS RIVERA (Corresponding author) and ENRIQUE H. BUCHER Centro de that the person knew the species and could differentiate it Zoologı´a Aplicada, Universidad Nacional de Co´rdoba, C.C. 122, (5000) from other parrot species. We discarded information that ´ Cordoba, Argentina. E-mail [email protected] we considered doubtful. RAUL ROJAS LLANOS and BENNETT HENNESSEY Armonia Birdlife, Santa Cruz From the literature we found 16 sighting records of the de la Sierra, Bolivia. Tucuma´n parrot in Bolivia (Table 1). Grouping of some of NATALIA POLITI Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, 10 Orono, USA. the records resulted in areas where the species was Received 3 November 2008. Revision requested 22 December 2008. previously recorded. Three of these areas were inaccessible Accepted 23 February 2009. or could not be located (Table 1) and thus we surveyed

ª 2009 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 44(1), 110–113 doi:10.1017/S0030605309990950 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.126, on 25 Sep 2021 at 13:29:30, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605309990950 Global status of Tucuma´ n parrot 111

TABLE 1 Previously published records of the Tucumań parrot Amazona tucumana in Bolivia. Location Coordinates Date Number of individuals Source Santa Cruz Department San Lorenzo 18419S63559W 7–14 June 1996 ? Herzog & Kessler (1996) La Yunga1 18479S63519W Sep.–Oct. 1992 Fairly common Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) La Angostura 18259S63309W 2002–2003 ? Rivero et al. (2004) Chuquisaca Department Cerro Campamentito2 20489S64329W Mar. 1992 At least 900 Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) Portillo II2 20449S64419W 3 Apr. 1995 6 Mayer (2000) Nuevo Mundo 19019S64209W 15–20 July 1998 ? Herzog (1998) Rıó Puca Laja2 20489S64359W Sep.–Oct. 1992 Flocks of 10, 25, 90–100 Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) RıóLećhera2 20449S64409W Sep.–Oct. 1992 Flocks of 10, 25, 90–100 Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) Cerro Lagunillas2 20489S64289W 24–25 Sep. 1991 ? Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) Padilla 1942 ? Bond & Meyer de Schauensee (1943) Hacienda Moco Pata3 20089S64209W 10 Oct. 1991 ? Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) Tarija Department Rıó Achirales4 22029S64339W 4 Oct. 1992 1 Mayer (2000) Rıó Escalera4 22009S64349W 2 Oct. 1992 ? Mayer (2000) Narvaéz 21279S64189W 11–12 Mar. 1992 Several flocks Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) S.E. Padcaya4 21589S64399W Sep.–Oct. 1992 Common Fjeldså & Mayer (1996) Fortin Campero1 1942 ? Bond & Meyer de Schauensee (1943)

1Site not found 2Grouped as Montes Chapeados in Table 2 because the sites are all , 20 km apart 3Inaccessible site 4Grouped as Tariquı´a Flora and Fauna National Reserve in Table 2

seven areas, encountering the species in four. We also Grande, Postrervalle, Potrerillos and San Lorenzo in the visited 12 areas with no previous records of the species and Santa Cruz Department. Our respondents indicated that detected the species at seven (Table 2). We travelled c. 6,000 since then the species has not recovered to former levels. km by vehicle and walked c. 65 km, totalling 222 hours of Additional captures for the local market took place in observations, and recorded a total of 1,643 Tucumań Tariquıá Flora and Fauna National Reserve and Narvaéz in parrots. Two areas harboured . 75% of the individuals Tarija Department, and Potrerillos in Santa Cruz Depart- detected (773 individuals in Villa Serrano and 405 in ment. Our respondents indicated that the last captures took Tariquia Flora and Fauna National Reserve); both areas place in 2001, when 200 parrots were illegally mist netted in harboured roosts. Potrerillos and sold in Santa Cruz city. In 2005 the illegal According to the 13 people interviewed c. 5,400 Tucu- pet trade monitoring programme conducted by Asociacioń mań parrots were captured legally for the international pet Armonıá detected 42 individuals in captivity in Santa Cruz trade during 1981–1983 at roosts near the towns Valle city (M. Herrera, pers. comm.).

Recorded in this & previous studies 65ºW 62ºW 18ºS 1 Not recorded 2 8 6 Santa Cruz New record 3 7 5 FIG. 1 The southern Yungas in Bolivia (grey Priority area for conservation 4 13 shading) and the sites surveyed for the Tu- 12 Southern Yungas cumań parrot Amazona tucumana in 2006 11 Villa Serrano and 2007 (showing where the species was 9 10 recorded in this and previous studies, sites 15 where we did not recorded the species, and Montes Chapeados16 14 Chuquisaca new records). Numbers correspond to the PARAGUAY 21ºS BOLIVIA sites in Table 2 and large circles to the three 18 Tarija areas that we propose as priority areas for conservation of the Tucumań parrot: Villa TFFNR 17 N Serrano, Montes Chapeados and Tariquıá Flora and Fauna National Reserve (TFFNR). ARGENTINA 100 km The inset indicates the location of the main map in South America.

ª 2009 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 44(1), 110–113 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.126, on 25 Sep 2021 at 13:29:30, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605309990950 112 L. Rivera et al.

TABLE 2 Sites surveyed for the Tucumań parrot, by Department, in Bolivia (Fig. 1)in2006 and 2007, with maximum number of Tucumań parrots recorded, survey effort and number recorded per unit effort. Abundance Site number & site (by Altitude Maximum no. Survey effort per unit effort Department) Coordinates range (m) recorded (hours) (parrots h-1) Santa Cruz Department 1, Postrervalle1 18299S63519W 2,000–2,200 4 12 0.3 2, Valle Grande 18299S64069W 2,000–2,100 0 12 0 3, San Lorenzo2 18429S63549W 2,200–2,300 50 18 2.7 4, Loma Larga 18469S63539W 1,600–1,700 0 6 0 5, El Pino1 18429S63549W 2,000–2,200 96 6 16 6, Potrerillos1 18329S63559W 2,000–2,200 4 12 0.3 7, Vilca 18329S63489W 1,600–1,700 0 6 0 8, La Angostura2 18109S63319W 600–700 0 6 0 Total 154 78 Chuquisaca Department 9, San Juan del Piraı´1 20139S64059W 1,200–1,300 90 12 7.5 10, Santa Rosa1 2029S64059W 1,300–1,400 5 6 0.8 11, Villa Serrano1,3 19049S64199W 2,200–2,400 773 18 43 12, Padilla2 19489S64159W 2,000–2,115 0 6 0 13, Nuevo Mundo2 19009S64209W 2,300–2,400 26 6 4.3 14, El Palmar1 20519S64199W 1,100–1,200 25 12 2.1 15, Tacurvite 20429S64089W 1,000–1,100 0 18 0 16, Montes Chapeados2 20549S64299W 2,300–2,500 126 30 4.2 Total 1,045 108 Tarija Department 17, Tariquıá FFNR3,4 22009S64349W 1,900–2,200 405 30 13.5 18, Narvaéz2 21249S64169W 1,700–1,800 39 6 6.5 Total 444 36

1New records for the species 2Previously mentioned in the literature (Table 1) 3Roosts 4Tariquı´a Flora and Fauna National Reserve (FFNR) includes: Zalsamoral, Puesto Viejo and Campamento de los guardaparques (the Park ranger camp)

Illegal capture of the Tucumańparrotforlocaltrade are the largest fragments of suitable breeding habitat (i.e. appears to continue at a reduced scale. It is common to mature Podocarpus–Alnus forest) and warrant high conser- observe Tucumań parrots as pets in Bolivian towns. Captures vation priority. In southern Bolivia this forest only occurs occur even in protected areas, where chicks are extracted from in a narrow zone and is threatened by lack of regeneration nests, e.g. in Tariquıá Flora and Fauna National Reserve at because of burning to sustain extensive cattle grazing. This least 10 people capture parrots from approximately 50 nests forest type is restricted to areas where fires normally do not annually, removing the entire brood of each nest. A similar enter (Fjeldså & Mayer, 1996). situation has been observed in other areas of Tarija De- The designation of Serranıá del Inão (near Villa Serrano) partment, such as in the town of Narvaéz (Tariquıá Flora and as a National Park and Sustainable Management area in Fauna National Reserve rangers, pers. comms). 2006 may provide a legal framework to undertake conser- The number of Tucumań parrots we recorded in Bolivia is vation actions for the Tucumań parrot, especially consid- c. 25% of the number recorded in Argentina (Rivera et al., ering that the largest roost (Villa Serrano; Table 2) is near 2007), in agreement with other reports (Ridgely, 1981;Juniper this protected area. In Tariquıá Flora and Fauna National &Parr,1998). Although the southern Yungas in Bolivia cover Reserve there is a need to develop conservation strategies an area 20% smaller than in Argentina this probably does not to halt the unsustainable use of forest resources (Kessler & entirely explain the difference in the population sizes. Beck, 2001). Because of its inaccessibility, Montes Chapeados Sixty percent of the Tucumań parrots we recorded in is relatively undisturbed and has the largest area of suitable Bolivia were in previously unknown sites, and there are breeding habitat. The largest population (at least 900 in one other areas that could potentially harbour the species and roost) of Tucumań parrot in Bolivia was recorded by Fjeldså should be surveyed. The largest concentrations of Tucumań &Mayer(1996) in Montes Chapeados; we found only 126 parrots in Bolivia are in Montes Chapeados, Villa Serrano, there, possibly because we did not survey at the same time of and Tariquıá Flora and Fauna National Reserve; these areas the year or because we did not find the roost.

In total we have recorded a total of 7,650 individuals of saca, entre los 2200 y 2450 msnm. del 15 al 20 de Julio de 1998. Tucumań parrots in Argentina (Rivera et al., 2007) and Unpublished Report. Asociacioń Armonıá/BirdLife International, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Bolivia. It is likely that the present population size is lower 1996 1980 H ERZOG, S.K. & K ESSLER,M.( ) Lista de aves observadas en las than before , when captures of Tucumań parrots for localidades: Loma Larga, San Lorenzo y La Yunga dentro del the international pet trade reached an estimated peak of Departamento de Santa Cruz. Unpublished Report. Asociacioń 20,000 from Argentina (Nores & Yzurieta, 1994) and 5,500 Armonıá/BirdLife International, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. from Bolivia. The present total population is only a third of I BISCH, P.L. & M E´ RIDA,G.(2003) Biodiversidad: La riqueza de the birds removed during the 1980s, and most probably Bolivia. Estado de conocimiento y conservacioń. Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible. Editorial FAN, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, could not sustain that level of capture. Bolivia. In Bolivia the critical factors threatening the Tucumań IUCN (2001) 2001 Categories and Criteria (version 3.1). IUCN, Gland, parrot include habitat loss and the illegal pet trade. Forests Switzerland [http://www.iucnredlist.org/static/categories_ are affected by industrial timber extraction, widespread criteria_3_1, accessed 23 September 2009]. 2009 2009 1 slash-and-burn agriculture (chaqueo), even in protected IUCN ( ) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species v. . . Http:// www.iucnredlist.org [accessed 23 September 2009]. areas, and wildfires in mature Podocarpus–Alnus forests. In J UNIPER,T.&PARR,M.(1998) Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the Argentina, forest loss and degradation are the most critical World. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA. factors affecting the southern Yungas (Pacheco & Brown, K ESSLER,M.&BECK,S.(2001) Bolivia. 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B ENNETT H ENNESSEY manages the Cultural and Biological Diversity of Andean Rainforests, Kalø, BirdLife South American Preventing Extinctions programme and is Denmark. the Executive Director of Asociacioń Armonıá in Bolivia. E NRIQUE H ERZOG, S.K. (1998) Lista de aves observadas en la localidad de B UCHER conducts research on parrots in Argentina and on the Nuevo Mundo (1901’S–6420’W) en el Departamento de Chuqui- management of natural resources in Latin America.