Thick-billed Parrot
By: Ramiro Molina
By: Ramiro Molina
 |
| Pic by: http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/ |
The thick-billed parrot is one of the world’s most beautiful
birds. Most of the birds body is a
darkish green color[1]. It has red marks on the thighs and forehead as well as a
patchy section on the shoulder[1]. One of its most beautiful traits is the yellow
feathers it has under its wings which are most visible when it’s in flight.
The last report
of the thick-billed parrot in the US was in 1938 do to excessive hunting[1]. Its
distribution in Mexico goes from Sonora and Chihuahua all the way to Michoacán
and Jalisco[1]. It is estimated that of the active pairs of thick-billed parrots
only 25% of them actually try to nest in order to reproduce[1]. Although it is not curtain how many really
breed for sure. They tend to eat mostly pine seeds and occasionally acorns[3].
Pine seeds are their preferred meal as the spend most of their time on pine
trees.
 |
| Pic by: http://www.preciselyparrots.com/showthread |
The animal was first recognized as endangered in 1938[1].They
have not been wiped out completely because hunting is not the best way to
eliminate a species because they just become hard to find.
 |
| Pic by: http://www.birdphotos.com/ They are only in Mexico now! |
Where Did they Go?
The main cause for the beautiful parrots to become enlisted
was the destruction of their habitats[1]. They live in mature trees that usually
tend to be cut down. It is said that only 1% of old grown trees that the
parrots use for nesting are left today[1]. Making the active breeding pairs to
have to go on a mission just to find the right tree for nesting. That’s not the
only thing harming the thick-billed parrot; they have become pretty popular in
the pet trade in Mexico[1]. People have begun to take the parrots eggs and sell
them. Once they have become part of the pet trade and living in captivity,
being released will be like letting out a chicken in the middle of 5 mountain
lions. It is death for sure as the parrot never developed the skills to escape
predation by other birds[1]. Giving them little hope to later reproduce.
 |
| Pic by: http://birdrecoveryinternational.com/ |
What do we do?!
The main
goal of this recovering plan is to down list the thick-billed parrot from
endangered to threatened[1]. Later in the future its goal will be to delist it but
for the mean time its main goal is to just get it out of the critical danger
zone[2]. We still do not have accurate and supportive populations size on these
birds which will make it hard to completely delist them from the endanger
species list. We want them back in America and in order to do so they need to
recover in Mexico. In order to do this we need to act on the following:
1) Conserving the breeding
areas located in the northern states of Mexico
2) Eliminating timber harvesting
and tree clearing from thick-billed parrot habitats
3) Formulate health assessment
to better understand the impact of diseases
4) Better understand the
population size in order to better establish plan
5) Strictly enforce all laws
in protecting these birds from being hunted.
----------------
[1]http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/Thick-billed Parrot
[2]http://www.birdrecoveryinternational.com/
[3]www.defenders.org/thick-billed-parrot/basic-facts
No comments:
Post a Comment