City Parrots

BirdLife International

Fourteen Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) have been successfully transferred to a new island home on Te Kakahu (Chalky) Island in Fiordland, south-west New Zealand, by the Department of Conservation’s Kakapo Recovery Team.

The Critically Endangered birds were transported from Whenua Hou (Codfish) Island and Te Hoiere (Maud) Island in July. The DoC says the ultimate goal is to have a self-supporting Kakapo population back on mainland New Zealand, living in a protected mainland ‘island’ environment with intensive predator controls in place.

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Arthur Grosset’s Birds

The Bald Parrot caused a sensation when it was described in 2002 mainly because it is hard to believe that such a large and colourful bird could have escaped the notice of the world.

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BirdLife International

There has been some good news concerning Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), a Critically Endangered species known to breed only at Toca Velha and Serra Branca in north-east Brazil.

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Northern Echo

The average tourist will often rub their eyes in disbelief when they spot them. But to the residents of Kirkby Stephen, in Cumbria, the dozens of exotic birds who swoop over their heads on a daily basis is a familiar sight.

The 50 or so magnificent parrots and parakeets belong to bird fancier and staunch conservationist John Strutt, who set up the wildlife charity the John Strutt Conservation Foundation eight years ago.

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By Alex Kirby, BBC News Online environment correspondent

Two months ago the world could boast just 62 kakapo, the world’s rarest parrot.

Today that number has risen by a third, to 84 birds, thanks to a bumper brood of chicks.

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Giles Whittell in The Times

The Spix’s macaw is on the brink of extinction. But the bird’s fate is in danger of being sidelined by the warring factions competing to save it.

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Budgerigars use fluorescent colouring in their feathers to attract mates, a team of researchers based at the University of Queensland has discovered.

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BirdLife International

The Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchos icterotis) (Critically Endangered) was once abundant across the High Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. However, by the late 1990s it was feared extinct until Proyecto Ognorhynchus rediscovered a small population in central Colombia (see World Birdwatch 22(1): pp. 17-21). Thanks to their efforts, working with the local community, this population has steadily increased, from 81 birds in 1999 to approximately 130 birds today.

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