By Rosemary Low

What do the Grey Parrot and the Yellow-naped Amazon have in common? It is this: both species are judged so desirable from the human perspective that their populations have crashed in recent years. This is mainly due to illegal trapping and thefts of chicks from nests, but also the result of deforestation for agricultural purposes.

Both species are brilliant mimics – perhaps the two most talented in the whole of the parrot kingdom. Both are highly intelligent with charismatic personalities. This makes them easy to sell so the illegal trade flourishes in most countries, despite the many steps taken to try to protect them and various excellent organisations involved.

Sadly, the situation for the Grey Parrot has recently deteriorated, due to climate change leading to human poverty and starvation in Africa, making new forms of income urgent, and because of political issues. Another factor is the wide use of the internet making illegal trafficking even easier than it used to be. With its small range, and everything happening on a reduced scale, protection of the Yellow-naped Amazon is easier to monitor. However, this is still not easy, but perhaps more so than trying to protect a species with an enormous range in central Africa, or more correctly, formerly an enormous range. It has been trapped to extinction in some areas.

Buy Now!