By Rhian Evans

Bonaire’s Yellow-shouldered Amazon (Amazona barbadensis) parrot population has been protected by law since 1952. It is a globally endangered species and is also found in several isolated populations on mainland South America and three other Caribbean islands. The main threats to these parrots are habitat loss due to development for the booming tourism industry and poaching for the illegal pet trade. Despite being just outside the hurricane belt, extreme weather events such as drought and storms have been known to affect Bonaire and have a severe effect on the parrot population. Since 2005, work has been conducted in an attempt to understand some of the problems facing this population. Nest site limitation caused by habitat degradation is a large contributing factor, therefore research into nest conditions and nest site selection is crucial to protect the species from further decline.

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