PsittaScene In this Issue: Three Rare Parrots Added To Appendix I of CITES ! Truly stunning displays PPsittasitta By JAMIE GILARDI In mid-October I had the pleasure of visiting Bolivia with a group of avid parrot enthusiasts. My goal was to get some first-hand impressions of two very threatened parrots: the Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys) and the Blue-throated Macaw (Ara SceneScene glaucogularis). We have published very little about the Red-fronted Macaw in PsittaScene,a species that is globally Endangered, and lives in the foothills of the Andes in central Bolivia. I had been told that these birds were beautiful in flight, but that Editor didn't prepare me for the truly stunning displays of colour we encountered nearly every time we saw these birds. We spent three days in their mountain home, watching them Rosemary Low, fly through the valleys, drink from the river, and eat from the trees and cornfields. Glanmor House, Hayle, Cornwall, Since we had several very gifted photographers on the trip, I thought it might make a TR27 4HB, UK stronger impression on our readers to present the trip in a collection of photos. CONTENTS Truly stunning displays................................2-3 Gold-capped Conure ....................................4-5 Great Green Macaw ....................................6-7 To fly or not to fly?......................................8-9 One man’s vision of the Trust..................10-11 Wild parrot trade: stop it! ........................12-15 Review - Australian Parrots ..........................15 PsittaNews ....................................................16 Review - Spix’s Macaw ................................17 Trade Ban Petition Latest..............................18 WPT aims and contacts ................................19 Parrots in the Wild ........................................20 Mark Stafford Below: A flock of sheep being driven Above: After tracking the Red-fronts through two afternoons, we across the Mizque River itself by a found that they were partial to one tree near a cornfield - it had sprightly gentleman. Sheep and goat very fine leaves and branches which swayed dramatically in the grazing is one of several threats to all wind making telephoto shots like this one very difficult. the parrots in the region. Grazing prevents the recruitment of many species of trees on which the parrots depend for many essential resources such as food, roosting habitat, and in some cases nest sites. Cover Picture By Ray Hales The elegant Citron-crested (Cacatua sulphura citrinocristata) is a familiar cockatoo in aviculture - yet it is also JDG. endangered. From the Indonesian island of Above: One of the many herds of cows, goats, or sheep we Sumba, it has suffered the twin threats of encountered in the Red-fronted Macaw habitat - typically driven by loss of habitat and excessive trapping for dogs, elderly men, or children. Like the goats and sheep, cattle are trade. Captive-breeding unfortunately the reason for much of the habitat conversion in these valleys which centres on hand-rearing young for the pet helps drive the parrots to crops like peanuts and corn for food. trade, so a question mark hangs over the future of this lovely cockatoo. Bill King JDG The World Parrot Trust does not necessarily endorse any views or statements made by contributors to PsittaScene. Right: Late on our third afternoon, we It will of course consider articles or letters from any discovered a group of birds on the contributors on their merits. ground in a large tilled field. It turned Anyone wishing to reprint any articles in full or in part out they were looking for and eating the seen in this magazine needs permission from the author and must state that it was copied from PsittaScene. remains of a corn harvest. They would either eat the cobs on the ground or fly All contents © World Parrot Trust to a nearby tree, bounce around in the wind, and eat the corn there. 2 ■ PsittaScene November 2002, No 53 Right: After an overnight flight from Miami and a six hour drive through the Andean foothills, we descended along a steep winding and dusty dirt road into the Mizque Valley. Our intent was to spend the remaining light checking out the blind and the general vicinity, and maybe if we were lucky, to see some birds. Other than a few conures flying over on the way, these birds - a group of more than 20 Red-fronted Macaws - were the first parrots that we saw. It proved to be a highly impressive introduction to the species, as they bounced around on the stiff afternoon breeze, vocalizing and socializing, then gathering and flying off down the valley and out of sight. Below: The Red-fronted Macaw lives only in three major river valleys in central Bolivia, where steep dry canyon walls descend into lush river valleys like the Mizque River valley pictured here. Mark Stafford Right: As part of a continuing series of bird-phones, the town of Santa Cruz has a collection of these beautifully sculpted and painted birds. These included several different species like this toucan, various waterbirds, and a Blue and Gold Macaw. Mark Stafford JDG Bill King JDG Bill King On our second afternoon in the Mizque, we searched the valley looking for the birds and found many of them at one end of the valley. They were mostly perched in a bare tree at the top of a ridge, the strong wind making it easy for them to take flight and soar around on the updrafts in an impressive display of green and orange. Bill King Mark Stafford PsittaScene November 2002, No 53 ■ 3 Reintroduction of captive-bred Gold-capped Conures in Bahia By PEDRO CERQUEIRA LIMA and SIDNEI SAMPAIO, BioBrasil Foundation Pedro Lima. translated by TOA KYLE The Gold-capped Conure (Aratinga auricapilla) is classified as vulnerable by IUCN/Birdlife International and is listed under Appendix II by CITES. Given that little is known of the species in the wild, there is an urgent need for knowledge of the geographical distribution, population size and threats to its survival. In the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahía, A. a. auricapilla, a subspecies endemic to the state, is distributed along the entire length of the coast. Flocks in the southern range of this subspecies tend to be smaller than those found in the north (south; max. 8 individuals vs. north; max. 30 individuals). This difference may be due to the presence of large coconut (Coco nucifera) plantations that dominate the landscape of the northern coast. Old or dead palms provide ideal nest sites for many bird species. Woodpeckers such as Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus), Campo Flicker (Colaptes campestris), and Green- Barred Woodpecker (C. melanochlorus) excavate nest cavities in the trunks of palms, which when abandoned by these species, are used by Tropical Screech Owl (Otus choliba), Ferrugineous Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum), American Kestrel (Falco sparverius),Orange-winged Amazon (Amazona amazonica), and most importantly, threatened Gold-capped birds have been recorded in the reserve, painted on the exterior in either green or Conures. including potential predators of Gold- brown. As of yet we have not determined a capped Conure, Peregrine Falcon (Falco preference for nests based on size or Confiscated birds peregrinus) and White-tailed Hawk (Buteo colour, as all models have been repeatedly Since 1997, the wildlife protection division albicaudatus). used by different flocks of birds. Gold- of CETREL, an environmental assessment capped Conure that utilized the artificial agency based in Camaçari, Bahía, has been Feed stations used nests laid between 2-4 white eggs, responsible for the care and reintroduction To assist the readaptation process to a weighing on average 5.6 g (n=9). The shell of birds confiscated through the illegal bird natural environment, platforms and feeders weight composed 6% of the total weight of trade. In 1997, the authors received 10 were distributed in the area, offering the the egg. Eggs were incubated for around Gold-capped Conures, eight adults and two fruits and seeds of regional species. 22 days, after which chicks hatched and juveniles, from IBAMA, the environmental Although flocks in the area still visit the remained in the nest for approximately 45 protection wing of the Brazilian feeders, banded individuals have been days prior to fledging. Chicks were hatched government. The adults were presumably observed as far as 5 km from the with pinkish-white skin and white down. all chicks robbed from nests in the wild reintroduction site. Normally a seed With time the beak and feet acquire a black while the juveniles were hatched in predator of native species, it appears that colouration. captivity. After a quarantine period the Gold-capped Conures may be acting as birds were banded and reintroduced at the dispersers of Dendê palm (Elaeis Flock formation CETREL reserve, a 700 ha mosaic of guyanesis) fruits by carrying them in their With the growth of the reintroduced cerrado (dry, savannah forest), restinga beaks to distant locales where the fleshy population, we observed the formation of (shrubs and grasses found on sandy, acidic mesocarp is eaten and intact seeds are up to six flocks that varied between 5-16 soils) and secondary stands of Atlantic discarded. Although Dendê palms (also birds. These flocks were composed of coastal rainforest. Over 290 species of known as African oil palms) are an exotic chicks fledged from previous nesting species, their fruits are an important resource for many other frugivorous species of northeastern Brazil. In order to study the reproductive biology of Gold- capped Conure we constructed artificial nests made of PVC tubes with a diameter ranging between 14-20 cm and a length of 50-70 cm. Nests were 4 ■ PsittaScene November 2002, No 53 seasons, that appear to assist with current unknown. It is likely that the current is still a fledgling enterprise whose nesting attempts.