StayingOneStep Ahead

CITESfacesotherchallengestoprotectingparrots.Most captive‑born chickshaveanIDringplacedontheirlegs.Illegaltradersmayhavefiguredouthowtoattachtheseringstowildbirds.So,it’snotalwayseasytotellthedifferencebetweencaptive‑bredandwild‑caught birds.


Tostayonestepaheadofthecriminals,geneticistsatSouthAfrica’sUniversityofKwaZulu‑Natalareworkingonasolution.Theyhopetocreateaquickandpainlessgenetictest.Itwouldhelpdetermineifabirdiswildornot.SuchDNAworkcouldallowabreeder,petbuyer,orairportinspectortotakeasamplefromabirdanddiscoveritsoriginsonthespot.Asimilarapproachcouldanalyzecertainchemicalsinparrotfeathers.Thattestwouldrevealwhattheparrotseat,whichwouldtellexpertswherethebirdscame from.

Therehavebeenotherencouragingdevelopments.Atfirst,thecountriesofSaudiArabiaandtheUnitedArabEmiratessaidthattheywouldnotfollowtheCITESrestrictions.However,theyhavesinceagreednottoimportwild‑caughtAfrican grays.


Thereareconservationsuccessstories,too.ThecriticallyendangeredPuertoRicanparrot,forexample,wasdownto13individualsinthe1970s.Biologistslaunchedacaptive‑breedingprogram.Wildandcaptivebirdsnownumberinthe hundreds.


Conservationistssaythelong‑termchallengeremains.Peopleneedtounderstandthatthesebirdsareatriskandareworth protecting.

Liketheothercaptivebirdspicturedinthisarticle,thisAlexandrineparakeethasanIDringonits leg.

What can you do to help?

1

Thinktwicebeforebuyinga bird.

Doyourresearchandmakesurethisistherightkindofpetforyou.Areyoupreparedtoberesponsibleforit?Theaveragepetparrotwillgothroughsevenhomesinthefirst10yearsofits life.

2

Ifyoualreadyhaveapetbird,giveitagood life.

Trytogiveyourbirdthebestlifepossiblewithyou.Offerregularexerciseandmentalstimulation.Feeditfreshfruitsandvegetables.Scheduleregularcheckupswithyour vet.

3

Supportgroupshelping birds.

Manyeffortsareunderwaytopreservepopulationsofwildparrotsthankstoorganizationslike:
• WorldParrotTrust
• ParrotsInternational
• WildBirdTrust
• BirdLife International

4

Learnmoreaboutthesituationforcaptivebirdsandwildlife trafficking.

Starthere:
• humanesociety.org
• avianwelfare.org
• cites.org

5

Spreadthe word.

green‑cheeked conures

Alex,the African Gray

IrenePepperbergisascientistwhostudiesthewayanimalslearn.In1976,sheboughtanAfricangrayparrotatapetstoreandnamedhimAlex.Shewantedtoteachhimafew words.

ShedidnotknowthatherrelationshipwithAlexwouldspanmorethan30 years.ShedidnotknowthatwhatshewouldlearnfromAlexwouldchangetheworld’sthinkingaboutparrots.Alex’svocabularygrewtomorethan100 Englishwords.Healsocreatednewwordsofhisown!Hemadeuphisownwordforapple.Hecalledita“banerry.”That’sacombinationofthewords“banana”and “cherry.”


Hecouldalsodescribeobjects,shapes,andcolors;dosimplemath;andunderstandbasicconceptssuchasnone,same/different,and bigger/smaller.


Alexdiedatage31.HislastwordstoPepperbergwere:“Youbegood,seeyoutomorrow.Iloveyou.”Alexprovedtotheworldthat“birdbrains”areprettybrightafter all.