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Thank you Arara Preta for this insight. You need a lot of words to make your point but I have found this interesting.

The bigger, long term ecological processes that create and maintain nest sites for parrots are indeed important to conservation. Protected areas should be big enough for these processes to continue.

Destruction of nest sites is always a big worry for parrot conservationist for the reasons you point out. Supplementing nest sites with nest boxes has proven to be a potent emergency conservation tool where habitat is very degraded.

Supplying nest boxes to the Golden conures in Rondônia would perhaps enable them to maintain a presence in the area longer. Helping them adept to changing circumstances.

I like to read the article you mention. Could you sent it to me?

Cheers,

Roelant

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Thats ok Arara Preta. This is an international forum and plenty of non native speakers here. English is not my native tong either. I am happy to be able to communicate with you at all! Your English is improving rapidly I see!

I have found the article. Thank you for explaining.

Captive breeding has its merits in my opinion but there are many many drawbacks as well. Cost being one of the more bigger problems as are the domestication effects that are inherent to captivity. These factors make captive breeding a last resort for conservationists. I have gathered some of my thoughts on the subject here: http://www.cityparrots.org/media/endcaptiveconservationmanagment.pdf

In Colombia PROAVES has has good experience with supplementing artificial nest to rare parrots. PVC pipes are known to be durable in tropical conditions. One PVC pipe could hold multiple compartments to facilitate the Ararujubas special needs.

Some reports say Hawk-headed parrots are close to extinction in Brazil. Your information on the species might be valuable to set conservation priorities.

Being close to human settlements doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad for the birds. Many aratinga/macaw type birds do well in cities. You must be aware of the Maritacas (several species of parrots go by that name) in the Brazilian cities. Like this series of Ararajubas closest relative Diopsittaca nobilis in São Paulo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/henriquemartin/1415419918/in/pool-cityparrots/

We are planning to come to Brazil later this year. We especially like to learn more about the situation of Ararajuba.

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Hi Arara Preta. Conservation is about people, people and people. Changing their attitudes and behaviors is our biggest task.

There are several people in Brazil, Europe and elsewhere that are having good captive breeding results for the Ararajuba.

As founder of cityparrots.org I like to know more about the Diopsittaca nobilis cumanensis you see. I really like to do an article about them. I tried to sent you a personal message but that utility doesn’t seem to work for this forum, or maybe its just me. (Steve??)

Cheers,

Roelant

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Hi Arara Preta,

Thanks for sharing your very informed views on the Ararajubas and some other species. I have found a lot of valuable information in your writings. In fact, this thread has contained some of the most up-to-date information on Ararajuba conservation AND aviculture that I have seen anywhere over the last few years. There was a lot of information disseminated when the WPT’s Golden Conure fund was first started, and then there were regular updates for a while, but after that I have not heard anything much new for the last couple of years. Thank you for the timely update to remind us that all is not going so well with the Golden Conure’s conservation efforts.

It is reassuring to hear that some of the displaced Ararajubas have adapted well to nest in dead trees found on cattle grazing land. However, one wonders if their very special and possibly unique family group nesting behaviors will become diminished or even be lost forever as these behaviors become less appropriate in their new environments, where these behaviors may begin to lose their evolutionary value. Do you know if the Ararajubas which are nesting in dead trees found on cattle grazing land are nesting there as pairs or are they still nesting in family groups?

But, of course, as you have already mentioned, even these new nesting sites on cattle grazing land are, at best, only a very precarious solution.

I also have a query about comparing the creation of the ox bow lake, with the creation of the Tucurui Dam. I have not been to that area, so I do not know the area and I do not know what the dam is like, but I wonder why the filling in of the Tucurui Dam did not leave a lot of dead hardwood trees which the Ararajubas could have used as nesting sites, just like the dead hardwood trees formed in the ox bow lakes?

Would you mind telling me whether you are still currently actively involved in the fieldwork for the conservation of the Ararajubas? I ask because I would like to know where Ararajuba conservative efforts are heading. Are appropriately clustered groups of artificial nests being set up for them in the appropriate habitats, as seems to be the immediate emergency solution here? How are the difficulties in eastern Paragominas being handled? Or have we given up on conservation efforts in that region?

Thanks again for your very informative posts,
Andrew

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