Wildlife Trafficking

In the Ecuador wilderness (guides Nelson, at the helm, and Paa), Charles Bergman sought the roots of the illegal animal trade (a blue-headed parrot chick). Photo: Charles BergmanTwo fire-red birds swooped screeching through the forest, flared their yellow and blue wings and alighted on the upright trunk of a dead palm tree. In the green shadows, the scarlet macaws were dazzling; they might as well have been shot from flamethrowers. One slipped into a hole in the tree, then popped its head out and touched beaks with its mate, whose long red tail pressed against the trunk. The birds eyed us suspiciously.

Click to read more ...

Macaws bred far from tropics during pre-Columbian times

Scarlet Macaw bred and raised in the Wild (in The Netherlands)Inhabitants of Paquimé, a large settlement that flourished from 1200 to 1450 in what is now northern Chihuahua, raised scarlet macaws more than 500 kilometers north of the animals’ tropical homes, say anthropology graduate student Andrew Somerville of the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues. Ancient macaw breeders harvested the birds’ vibrant red, blue and yellow feathers for use in ceremonial garb and to trade with Native American societies in the southwestern United States, Somerville’s team proposes in an upcoming Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.

Click to read more ...

Macaws Released in Nicoya Peninsula

Recently, a group of 15 pairs of scalet macaws was released in the Nicoya Peninsula, thanks to the support of the Scarlet Macaw Conservation Association (ASOPROLAPA) and as part of a project that this group has been conducting for the past 13 years.

Click to read more ...

Parrots teach man to speak again

Brian Wilson holds one of his rescued parrots Photo: AFP/GETTYA US fireman who lost his power of speech in a traffic accident has been taught to speak again by parrots.

Click to read more ...

Macaws flying over Medellin, Colombia!

Today we received a wonderful video from Carlos Esteban Lara Vásquez who studies the macaws of Medellin for us. The video was gracefully made available by Carolina Gomez. In the video you can see 5 macaws enjoying some fruit in a tree (Spathodea campanulata) after which they take flight. From the flight pattern you could deduct that their is one pair of Scarlet macaws (Ara macao). These are the birds that fly parallel and synchronised to each other. They are more loosely followed by what might be their offspring. This supports the notion that the macaws have been successfully reproducing within the city habitat. The two other birds are more loosely associated. One of the birds is a green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera). The first of its kind to be recorded in Medellin!

Click to read more ...