Parrot conservation in the lesser antilles with some comparison to the Puerto Rican efforts

Abstract

There are four endemic species of Amazona parrots in the Lesser Antilles, namely the imperial or Sisserou parrot Amazona imperialis and the red-necked or Jaco parrot A. arausiaca of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the St Lucia parrot A. versicolor of St Lucia, and the St Vincent parrot A. guildingii of St Vincent and The Grenadines. Seven other endemic members of the same family, Psittacidae, have become extinct in the region in historical times. These four extant species are now all threatened by deforestation, predation, illegal hunting and collecting, and natural disasters. Measures for parrot conservation consist of environmental education, habitat protection, enforcement of appropriate legislation, and enhancement of wild breeding and captive breeding. These approaches are reviewed for each of the islands and compared with the relatively successful but much more expensive conservation measures adopted for the Puerto Rican parrot A. vittata in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Recommendations are made for future conservation emphasis and research.