Why are These Parrots at Risk of Extinction? – Meet Some of Them

Translated by Nick R

You have surely seen them in videos on the Internet, with neighbors, friends, or relatives, but did you know that the practice of having parrots can endanger the survival of some species of their family (“Psittacidae”)? Read on, for you’ll learn the reasons that lead to this and how to avoid it.

Table of Contents

Why are parrots the most endangered bird family?

As I said at the beginning, parrots are very popular as pets because of their particular characteristics such as their incredible ability to learn to talk, their bright and vivid colors, their size diversity, and their longevity; it can be said that they are the perfect pet for anyone.

However, their qualities are a double-edged sword. The ambition and lack of awareness of people about how parrots end up in pet stores and the high demand for the species to be cared for in captivity mean that every day more and more of them are at risk of disappearing.

What is causing the extinction of parrots?

Several reasons are causing some parrots (psittacines) to become endangered, here are some of them:

Destruction of parrot’s habitats

Psittacids inhabit tropical areas of the world such as:

South America
Africa.
Asia.
The Middle East.
Oceania.

There, human intervention has seriously affected the habitat of parrots, as has happened in Colombia, where most species are spread along the Andes Mountains due to favorable climatic conditions for parrots and humans, which benefits agricultural activity and the settlement of cities, known as infrastructure development.

Currently, the condition of tropical forests is not favorable. It is estimated that the annual deforestation rate in 2011 was 0.7 to 10%, equivalent to the size of Costa Rica, which is a serious problem not only for the beloved parrots but also for other species that only inhabit these places.

Parrot poaching

For your understanding, poaching refers to when a hunter poaches in a place where it is not allowed, such as on foreign lands or in species preservation sites or national parks.

The poaching of parrots occurs mostly by taking eggs from nests to raise them from chicks and to make them easier to take care of by human hands, although it can also happen that large specimens are taken for international trade.

Species trafficking

According to the WWF, species trafficking moves between 10 and 20 billion euros a year, which places it on the same level as arms and drug trafficking, a degrading activity that endangers the welfare of parrots and causes some of them to die in the long journeys they make from other parts of the world to the homes where they will live.

However, something encouraging for the welfare of the species is that according to the report “A bird’s eye view: lessons from 50 years of regulation and conservation of bird trade in Amazonian countries”, the illegal traffic of parrots has decreased reasonably at least in South American countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador, after the various measures taken to prevent trafficking of wildlife and supported by alternatives for the appreciation of the species such as bird watching.

However, there is no need to claim victory; species trafficking is still not only illegal but is not punished in other countries, such as Peru, Guyana, and Suriname, from where they have been exported:

Peru: 37,233 from 2000 to 2013.
Guyana: 145,000 species from 2000 to 2016.
Suriname: 74,890 species from 2000 to 2013.

In parallel, it also happens that despite the fact that some countries prohibit the keeping of wild birds for conservation reasons, it still happens that many households illegally trade and take care of them.

Another reason why the number of species trafficking has also been reduced may be due to the fact that in the places to which they are exported there are already specimens of the species to be able to mate and have more specimens.

Are only parrots endangered?

Unfortunately, not only parrots are endangered birds, there are several species of animals and plants at risk which are included in the “Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)”.

To understand the list and the information that you’ll read in this blog, it is important to know that there is a classification that defines the level of danger in which a species is found:

Data Deficient (DD)	This category is given when there is insufficient data on the distribution and/or abundance of a species (species classification).
Least Concern (LC)	It indicates when a species does not meet any of the requirements to be considered endangered or is close to becoming endangered.
Near Threatened (NT)	When a species is close to meeting the requirements to be classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable.
Vulnerable (VU)	This category indicates when the risk of a wildlife species becoming extinct is high.
Endangered (EN)	This classification is assigned when the species is considered to have a very high risk of extinction.
Critically Endangered (CR)	It indicates when a species is at extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.
Extinct in the Wild (EW)	This category is assigned when there are no longer any specimens alive in the habitat where the species would be expected to be or those in which it was found during its lifetime during migratory periods, but which remain alive in captivity.
Extinct (EX)	This indicates when it has been assured that there are no living specimens of the species in the habitat where they were found or in other places to which they migrate due to the time of the year in which they used to do so.

Parrot species in danger of extinction

African grey parrot or yaco

Scientific name	Psittacus erithacus
Red List Category IUCN	Endangered (EN)
Reasons for its reduction	– Popularity as a mascot – Loss of territory and deforestation – Use of some of its parts for consumption, medicinal use or black magic.
Location	Africa

The yaco parrot is a favorite of many for its impressive ability to learn to speak. It has even been proved that it can have a high level of understanding and learning thanks to the famous parrot Alex, who learned about 100 words and recognized objects, shapes, colors, and numbers.

The popularity of the gray parrot has brought serious consequences that place it on the IUCN scale as Endangered (EN), due to the extinction of the species in its natural habitat in countries such as Ghana, Togo and Benin and the gradual decline of the species in other parts of central Africa.

Other reasons why the species has been affected include the use of its meat and body parts such as the head, feathers, and legs for medicinal or black magic use and the loss of territory.

Agapornis fischeri

Scientific name	Psittacus erithacus
Red List Category IUCN	Near Threatened (NT)
Reasons for its reduction	Previous commercialization of their species as pets. Reduction of its population due to illegal trafficking to other countries.
Location	TanzaniaIntroduced to other countries such as: BurundiRwandaKenyaUgandaFrance

The Agapornis are a genus of parrot known for their small size and distinctive colors, one of the most popular is the Agapornis or Lovebird Fischeri, which is Near Threatened (NT) due to the popularity it had worldwide in the 80s and the permissiveness that existed to export it. However, today this has been regulated, with the danger that the trade could be reactivated and that the specimens taken out of their habitat are used for mating and marketing their offspring.

Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot

Scientific name	Amazona aestiva
Red List Category IUCN	Near Threatened (NT)
Reasons for its reduction	Commercialization as a pet Agriculture Selective tree felling Habitat destruction Oil exploration Cattle ranching
Location	BoliviaArgentinaBrazil Paraguay

The blue-fronted amazon or amazona astiva is part of the amazon parrot family, who are generally green in color with some distinctions in each one of them, the category in which it is found according to the IUCN red list is Near Threatened (NT).

The reasons why it is threatened include its capture for export to other countries as a pet parrot, Brazil being the country that has been most affected by the illegal traffic of this species, in which hundreds of specimens are seized, some of them already dead.

Other reasons affecting the existence of this bird include the destruction of its habitat for agricultural work, timber and pulp plantations, cattle ranching, climate change, selective logging, and oil exploration.

Yellow-headed Parrot or King Parrot (Amazona Oratrix)

Scientific name	Amazona Oratrix
Red List Category IUCN	Endangered (EN)
Reasons for its reduction	Illegal trafficking of the species to other countries. Popularity as a pet. Habitat loss.Agriculture and cattle ranching.
Location	BelizeGuatemalaHondurasMexico

The Amazona oratrix parrot is one of the parrots of the Amazon family with the greatest capacity to learn to speak, and its characteristics are very distinctive due to its yellow head and part of its red wings, on the IUCN red list, it is Endangered (EN).

The reasons for placing this particular parrot at a very high risk of extinction is due to the illegal traffic of species, especially from Mexico, where it is believed that 38% of its distribution has been lost, and the loss of habitat, which is estimated at 77.4% according to IUCN figures, due to agriculture and cattle ranching.

Yellow-naped Parrot

Scientific name	Amazona auropalliata
Red List Category IUCN	Critically Endangered (CR)
Reasons for its reduction	Habitat loss due to agriculture Deforestation Poaching Illegal species trafficking
Location	Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua

The Amazona autopalliata parrot is the most endangered Amazon parrot, classified as Critically Endangered (CR), all as a result of habitat loss due to agriculture and deforestation. However, one of the most critical reasons for its population reduction is poaching and commercialization for illegal trade due to its popularity as a pet in Central America because of its ability to imitate speech.

The countries where the decline of the species has been most evident as a result of poaching of the species and its eggs for illegal trade are Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador, of which 54% are also believed to die in the process of hunting and transport.

Reflection

To conclude everything you have read, I would like to give you a message of conscience that will help you to reflect on the impacts that human actions have on the environment in which parrots and other types of animals live.

I know that the idea of having a bird to take care of, play with and in the case of parrots be able to talk to, sounds fascinating, but first consider everything that it or its family had to go through to get to your house, the impact that your action has on an entire species and order of birds, which can even affect the ecosystems they inhabit or inhabit.