Yellow-eared Parrot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Ognorhynchus icterotis (Massena & Souancé, 1854) |
The Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), also known as the palm parrot, is an endangered parrot of tropical America. It is endemic to a narrow area of andean mountains in Colombia and is closely asociated to the wax palm Ceroxylon quindiuense which is itself an endangered species.
Contents |
[edit] Range and habitat
This species lives in the wildlife sanctuary of Cocora valley and areas with presence of Wax palm where the parrot can nest and live. However, their numbers have been reduced drastically—by 90 percent, to 7,000, from the mid 1970s to 1994, and by 68 percent from 1994 to 2004, because of capture for the pet trade and habitat destruction.
This parrot lives in mist forests about 2000 – 3400 meters over sea level, in hollow trunks of the palms, usually 25-30 meters over the floor level. The nest is used during all the life of the parrot, and often it returns to its nest after an attack from humans, making easier the capture. In captivity, the parrot usually dies in the short term.
[edit] Description
It is a small bird, with an average of 42-46 cm. long, and about 285 gr. weight. Its upper body is bright green, black colored around the eyes. The origin of the common epithet "Yellow-eared" is caused for the yellow patch of feathers at the sides of its head. The yellow-eared parrot mates for life. Its main source of food are the fruits of the wax palm.
[edit] Conservation efforts
Some government agencies, such CORANTIOQUIA are developing plans to protect the local endangered species, including the yellow-eared. There is an international project in this topic, known as “Ognorhynchus Project” directed for ornithologists Paul Salaman and Niels Krabbe.
