African Wildlife & Environment Issue 82

BIRDING

Threats and Conservation Status Meyer's Parrots are still common in the wild, although numbers have decreased locally, following the destruction of woodlands. It is generally not considered to be at risk, as their population is large, there is limited pressure from trade and hunting, and with a 6,000,000 km2 home range, these birds are unlikely to face extinction in the near future. The trade in birds that have been bred in aviculture is legal. Meyer's Parrots are listed on Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and

A Ruppell's Parrot nest (Photograph: Warwick Tarboton)

incubation period, and the young remain in the nest for 60 to 84 days. Brown-headed Parrots usually lay 3 eggs at 1 to 2 day intervals, mainly in April to May with a 28 day incubation period and 50 to 54 days in the nest.

John Wesson jwesson@wessanorth.co.za Further reading Foreshaw Joseph M (1978) Parrots of the world. Lansdowne Editions, Melbourne. Hockey PAR,WRJ Dean & PG Ryan (2005) Roberts Birds of Southern Africa 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. South African Bird Atlas project 2. Animal Demographic Unit, University of Cape Town. Tarboton,WR. (2011). R oberts Nests & Eggs of Southern African Birds. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. Wikipedia Fauna). Appendix II listing means the species can also be taken from the wild and traded in 'limited' numbers. The Brown-headed Parrot is not threatened although the rate of habitat destruction is impacting on local populations and it is listed on CITES appendix II. Finally, Rüppell's Parrot, with its small area of distribution and trapping for aviculture, is resulting in local populations becoming vulnerable, but despite this, its conservation status is still given as ‘least concern’. It is a protected species, listed on CITES appendix II.

Meyers Parrot Mapungubwe National Park

Rüppell's Parrot mainly lays between January and Marc, with a clutch size of 3 to 5 eggs and incubation period of 24 to 30 days. Nestling period is 50 to 63 days. In all cases both parents feed the young. Note that these nesting data and incubation periods are based on birds breeding in captivity.

48 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 82 (2022)