Project for the reintroduction of Vinaceous-breasted Amazons in western Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Vinaceous-breasted Amazons ready to be reintroduced back to the wild (Photo: Vanessa Tavares Kanaan / Space Silvestre) In the National Park Araucaria, located in western Santa Catarina, a pioneering project is being undertaken to reintroduce the Vinaceous-breasted Amazon back to the wild. The bird occurs naturally in the region, but has not been seen in there for 20 years.

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Puerto Rican Parrots Sighted in Río Abajo State Forest

Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata), Río Abajo State Forest. Photo courtesy of Ricardo M. Rodríguez.The Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata) or “Iguaca”, as it was known by the indigenous Taínos, is a bright green-feathered bird, with a red forehead, white rings round the eyes, and blue primary flight feathers. The young look very similar to the adult parrots; females and males also look alike, and they measure approximately 12 inches.

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The charming Monk parakeets are here

The parakeets were a bunch of charmers. They occupied a dead palm tree in an industrial part of Corpus Christi. They were in their spring finery - billing, kissing, and nest building. Freeport, Ill. — Native to Argentina, the Monk Parakeet was brought to the US by the thousands as caged birds. Rumor has it that the birds were first reported in New York City in the late 1960s. According to the National Audubon Encyclopedia, the birds escaped from Kennedy International Airport after a crate was dropped during unloading. Soon after reports circulated that the parrots were widespread in the metropolitan area.

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Cayman parrot facing extinction

Cayman parrots. Image by H. Michael Miley

The Cayman parrot is facing a combination of threats which an international expert says could see the bird extinct within forty years if action is not taken to preserve the habitat the parrots need. Frank Rivera-Milán from the US Fish and Wildlife Service has been counting parrots in the Cayman Islands since Hurricane Ivan in 2004. During a presentation of his work here over the last eight years, Rivera-Milán issued a stark warning about the national birds and the threats they face which could in the face of another catastrophic event see them disappear.

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Potty-mouthed cockatoo swears at the neighbors; owner in trouble

Owners can train pet cockatoos to speak. A Rhode Island cockatoo's foul mouth has landed its owner in court.A cussing cockatoo has landed a Rhode Island woman in court for allegedly teaching the bird to curse up a storm at her next-door neighbors, who just happen to be her ex-husband and his new girlfriend.

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