A succesful breeding season for a vulnerable species? The Seychelles Island Foundation says they have to wait until the season ends in March. Until now, 12 of 39 black parrot eggs have hatched in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vallee de Mai on Praslin but already, two of the chicks have died. SIF is now waiting for the 17 remaining eggs to hatch. Image by Seychelles Island Foundation
“It is too early to say how successful this breeding season will be,” Walton told SNA. “At the end of the last breeding season, the team recorded 12 fledglings out of 32 eggs that were laid. However, this is not an indication of a successful season as other factors such as survival rate and mortality needs to be taken into consideration.”
It is no wonder therefore that in spite of being somewhat erroneously named the black parrot, the tiny population of dark brownish-grey birds are fiercely protected by SIF.
Protection at all costs
Slowly, the chicks’ dark brown plumage will grow in, and after 45 days, they will make their first heart-stopping attempts at flight. Approximately two years later, they will reach reproductive maturity to begin the breeding cycle all over again.
Throughout their lives, the species is faced with several threats, mainly from the human development issues posed by the 6,000 inhabitants of Praslin.
“Invasive alien species such as rats and cats predate on the eggs and chicks and... have the potential to transfer diseases and are in direct competition with the parrots for nesting sites,” stated Walton, adding that forest fires, loss of habitat due to development and agriculture also destroys important feeding and breeding habitat for the parrots.
Among the introduced species on the islands, the Indian Mynah bird, an invasive and aggressive species, poses a real threat to conservation of the endemic birds and several countries have had to introduce eradication measures to control the bird.
- See more at: http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/2134/Count+your+chicks+Endemic+Seychelles+Black+Parrot+hatchlings+bring+hope+for+vulnerable+species#sthash.3Udh3ztB.dpuf
As the northwest monsoon in the Indian Ocean Island of the Seychelles enters its third month, a handful of fluffy white-feathered chicks will start their ever-continuing battle for survival in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Vallée de Mai, located on the second most populated island, Praslin.
Conservationists hope that these little white balls of fluff with bulging eyes will one day soon mature into a rare endemic bird: the Seychelles Black Parrot (Coracopsis barklyi), which lives in the similarly vulnerable endemic coco-de-mer palm forest of the Vallée de Mai,home to the largest nut in the plant kingdom.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 13:22 
A Puerto Rican parrot is pictured just after it left a fly cage at El Yunque National Forest protected habitat in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. A group of scientists released at dawn Wednesday Jan. 21, 2015, 15 endangered Puerto Rican parrots, reintroducing them into the wild as part of a conservation program. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A group of scientists opened a cage at dawn on Wednesday and reintroduced 15 endangered Puerto Rican parrots into the wild as part of a conservation program.
