Ask An Expert: Jamie Gilardi

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Dot, I believe that would be three questions - actually four because the first is really two bundled together .

First, is it hopeful? Absolutely. It’s great to see these parrots showing us how flexible they can be, sorting out all sorts of new challenges and solving the many problems of urban live. To paraphrase ol’ blue eyes, if they can make it there …

Is it useful? Sure, if we’re observant and resourceful, we can learn from parrots regardless of where they dwell, whether that’s in our living rooms, in New York City, or on some lush tropical island. Last time I was watching some of the Amazons in Los Angeles, a small sub-flock was demolishing some dark green, very unripe persimmons with relish. If you’ve ever tried to eat a slightly unripe persimmon, they are extremely astringent, about the nastiest thing you can imagine putting in your mouth! More recently, I had the pleasure of watching some of the famous “Parrots of Telegraph Hill” in San Francisco. Among their many interesting behaviors, they were consuming impressive quantities of the outer bark of a huge elm tree (that wasn't very tasty either). There are a lot of useful things to be learned from watching and living around these birds, things that should help us better care for our captive charges and in some cases even inform our work with wild parrots in their native habitats.

Should conservation biologists support and aid these developments? Conserving nature is always a complex and difficult task. The fact that some parrot species can live and even thrive in developed areas is well known, it is hard to ignore, and oftentimes these birds are impressive spectacle to experience. That does not necessarily mean that 1. these populations are a positive development for conservation, or 2. that precious conservation dollars should be spent on them.

As you know, most urban parrots are found well outside their natural ranges and most are recently introduced. Often, what we’re looking at is the first couple of decades after they’ve become established, and sometimes less. What we do not know, and in many cases can not predict, is where these populations are going to go 50 or 100 years from now in terms of numbers of birds, where they will live, and what they will eat. Will they expand their ranges well beyond the developed areas, much as Ring-necked Parakeets have done in parts of the UK and on the continent, and as Monk or Quaker Parakeets have done in many places? Some species clearly do expand, whereas others may not.

When they do expand, their populations create at least two serious issues, conflicts with native birds and conflicts with agriculture. The first can be a conservation concern, particularly since native birds which nest in cavities are often limited by nest site availability (humans and loggers like to cut down dead trees and remove dead branches and other non-natives birds are a problem here too). The second issue – conflict with agriculture - is more likely to be a welfare concern because when dollars/pounds/Euro are involved, people are bound to start killing parrots by the thousands (think Australia and Florida).

In parrot conservation, there is always a lot more work to be done than there is funding available to do it. Ideally then, we would all be extremely careful about how we spend these limited funds, and to be sure that we prioritize our efforts to save the most threatened species first. And given that there are over 90 species considered globally threatened by the IUCN, we clearly have our work cut out for us. So, let’s just say, we’re talking about a high priority species – is it worth studying, supporting, or otherwise investing in individuals of this species living in a city. In most real-life situations, there will be many options available to help support the recovery of a given species, and some of these will include the possibility of saving them in their native habitat. In every case we’ve encountered in our 20 years of saving parrots from extinction, conservation cash has always been far better spent helping these birds in the wild, in their native range, and in their native forests, wetlands, deserts, mountains, or wherever it is the parrot naturally occurs.

And of course, conservation of a parrot species involves more than just making sure there are X thousands of birds of a given species on the planet, it involves understanding and resolving the threats to the species in the wild, ensuring that each species has ample healthy habitat, and that its prospects for the foreseeable future are secure. This can only work when we are able to save the bird and the bird's natural habitat.

There is yet another important benefit from focusing our conservation effort on the birds in their natural ecosystems. Because parrots are among the most spectacular and compelling inhabitants of nearly every place where they naturally occur, they make outstanding ambassadors or conservation 'flagships' which can encourage the preservation of these natural places, including of course all the plants, animals, fungi, etc. living there. In the end, saving a parrot where it belongs saves more than just that one species, it saves the whole ecosystem.

It is maybe worth mentioning as an aside here that in recent years we have encountered some unique situations where parrots have been released in to urban and suburban areas, sometimes with success and sometimes with local conservation consequences. In most cases, these are birds which have been confiscated from traders, rehabilitated and released. Anytime this occurs and the birds establish populations in an area where they have been extirpated, that action is clearly beneficial to those individuals involved as well as the biodiversity of that area. We’ve supported some of this work in past years, most recently the release of confiscated Grey Parrots in Cameroon, but also see a story on the successful release of Gold-capped Conures in Brazil from the November 2002 Psittascene (free download at psittascene.org). When done right, these efforts can generate substantial welfare benefits, sparing thousands of birds’ lives, and also send shockwaves through the trafficker and trapper networks.

While we at the Trust more than open to creative approaches to conservation of parrots, for the time being, it appears unlikely that urban parrot populations will make a truly significant contribution to the recovery of a threatened species in the wild. For these reasons, when we work to save wild parrot species, our efforts are nearly always focused on doing so in the species natural range and in their natural habitat.

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Cindi,

We sympathize with your situation and applaud your impressive commitment to help so many of these birds in need of good homes. There are of course many factors which have contributed to the situation here in the USA; many of these birds are wild caught birds which were legally imported in the past, some have been illegally imported since, and certainly many people bred and bought birds which they never should have bred or bought in the first place.

Just as we all must make choices about our time and efforts as an individual, we must do the same at the Trust. With regard to parrot welfare, we feel at this time that we are able to do the most for the largest number of parrots by focusing our expertise and resources on the wild parrot trade, both legal and illegal, around the world. Although it is unrealistic to hope for successes on the scale of the EU import ban to come along every year – changes which spare millions of wild birds – there is still a great deal of trade involving tens of thousands of wild parrots annually. Focusing our attention on the major exporter and importer nations is by far the most effective way we feel we can make a significant difference for parrots and their welfare.

Naturally, we do a lot of educational work as well, both in developed and developing countries, to raise awareness about parrots in captivity, their proper care, and the huge commitment involved in taking responsibility for one of these birds. While there remains a lot of work to be done, I feel there is now a great deal more understanding about these issues than there was even five or ten years ago,

I’ll answer your second question first as it’s much more straightforward. For the most part, in the USA, Europe, and Australia, the ‘pet trade in exotic species’ is effectively decoupled from the fate of wild parrots. That is, buying or not buying, breeding or not breeding parrots here in the USA (etc) really has no direct bearing on the conservation status of wild parrots. In the past, this was not the case, but import bans and other regulations have been quite effective in ensuring that such markets are, by-and-large, unrelated. That cannot be said for domestic markets within parrot range states, where local demand and price is very much related to harvest of birds from the wild. In these cases, however, one can easily argue (and many do) that widespread captive breeding is the best way to reduce demand for the wild birds.

Your first question is really a series of questions packed into one, including:

a. Can the Trust advocate for ending all exotic pet trade?
b. Could we do this gracefully?
c. Would ending this trade save all the future suffering of parrots?

The short answers are a. yes, b. probably not, and c. no; here’s why: In our focus on the conservation and welfare of all parrots, we could as an organization advocate for just about anything we feel would substantially further those aims. Our expertise, however, is limited primarily to parrots and other birds, and we know little about trade in lizards, frogs, snakes, fish, anemones, shrimp, live rock, small mammals, etc.. So it is unlikely we would ever be in a position to advocate for the elimination of trade in exotic species in general - or for the promotion of it for that matter - simply because we know so little about it.

Although it never ceased to amaze me how complex and multi-faceted our campaign to end EU imports became over the years, that effort was a million times more straightforward than attempting to end all exotic pet keeping in the developed world. So, could we do it gracefully? I really can’t see how, even if we completely changed who we are as an organization, and redirected all our resources in this direction.

Maybe more importantly, would we stand a chance of succeeding if we did decide this was our highest priority? There are massive organizations and big money on both sides of this issue, so any one organization would have very little chance to make a meaningful difference. When we have been able to make a difference on a policy like this as in the EU trade ban, it was because there were lots of big groups who were willing to join us and imports were very much against the interests of the EU ... so it was mostly a matter of helping them see that truth.

Ending all future suffering of parrots? That’s certainly a laudable goal, but I think I’d be much more comfortable with language like “eliminating unnecessary” suffering, or “minimizing” suffering whenever possible. There are a few of issues worth bearing in mind here: two about wild birds, one about captive birds. First, there are millions of parrots in the wild. Their lives generally end in ways that are very unpleasant and involve considerable suffering – most often being eaten alive by predators, but also suffering debilitating diseases, sustaining life-threatening injury … and then in their weakened state, often being taken by a predator in the end. Although it is nearly impossible to study, most available evidence suggest that very few of these birds thrive for decades and peacefully die in their sleep.

Second, wild parrots generally live in places where there are a number of serious predators; cats, snakes, primates, and other birds like hawks, eagles, and owls. Their only protection from these threats is to be smart, alert, and to hope for the best. It is fascinating to watch parrots go to roost in the wild for example, as their behaviors suggest that darkness brings with it a number of very substantial fears … every night of their lives. And judging from the piles of parrot feathers one finds on the forest floor at frequent intervals, these fears are not imaginary, they are very real. Of course, this fear at dusk is not suffering in the sense of feeling physical discomfort, but many would argue that experiencing intense fear is suffering on another level, particularly for highly intelligent species like parrots. Note that while we wouldn't for a moment suggest that these are reasons for taking birds from the wild - such experiences are entirely natural and parrots evolved in exactly such environments - that doesn't for a second mean that life in the wild is one that lacks suffering.

Third, you are absolutely right that there is a lot of suffering among captive birds as well; sometimes this is due to ignorance, sometimes it’s because people just don’t care, and sometimes it’s because they are simply unable to provide the bird with what it needs to thrive. Some of our closest friends and colleagues feel there should be no parrots in captivity. While we respect that view, we do not share it. In our collective experience, there are many parrots which are very well cared for in captivity, they live stimulating, healthy, fear-free, and often very long lives, and they often enrich our lives in many and profound ways. Perhaps more importantly, as a result of our being captivated by them, we have a deep appreciation for these creatures and we are powerfully motivated to save both the parrots and their habitats around the world.

So, no, I don’t think ending the exotic pet trade would “save all future suffering” of parrots. Such a step may in fact severely curtail awareness, appreciation, and respect for these birds, as well as potentially undermining support for their conservation. That said, we can do a lot to minimize this suffering by eliminating the trade in wild caught birds, and further educating people around the world about how to care for parrots, and about the many challenges of providing captive parrots with healthy and happy homes.

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Cindi,

I think that's maybe several questions in one! You're right that the remaining Vinaceous Amazons are distributed in patches and have suffered a great deal of habitat loss. They are also targets of the illegal trade, primarily for the domestic markets in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Aiding the recovery of this species is unfortunately not as straightforward as buying or restoring habitat between these patches, and there may even be movements among some of the patches which would negate the value of such corridors, at least for the parrots. Moreover, working on supporting enforcement of existing laws, educational campaigns, and other efforts to protect the birds in the wild may be the most cost effective and rapid way to support the recovery of this species.

Over the past 20 years, we've come to understand that there are a number of really important components in any successful conservation project, and chief among them is the presence of a local researcher or NGO which is competent and enthusiastic about saving the species. Where I think we can be very helpful at the Trust, is working through our networks of researchers, identifying collaborators who are going to get the job done, then doing our best to provide them with the funds, tools, and technical support to make the project a success. Asking these kinds of questions is a GREAT place to start, as we can help give you a sense for where we think such support can be most effectively spent, both in terms of geography and in terms of the species in question.

For the Patagonian Conures, it's not possible to buy El Condor itself, and there is a great chance that it will receive full protection very shortly. On the other hand, there may be other colonies where a land purchase (or other creative arrangement) may be possible, and it may make a big difference in the end. That said, one of the primary threats to this species was the widespread and LEGAL harvesting of this species for the European pet trade. As this has now stopped, the Argentine government is no longer allowing thousands of these birds to be taken from the wild each year.

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Cindi,

Great question!  We were thrilled with the initial donation and the fact that it inspired so many people to contribute, effectively doubling the outcome.

And yes, by all means, simply contact us at any of our branches by either email or telephone and we’ll work with you on how best to proceed.  To set up a matching campaign like this requires a bit of work, so it really only makes sense when the added value more than compensates for the staff time required to set it all up and to get the word out.  One thing that works very well is for supporters to talk to their good friends who care about nature conservation in general, to see if they can make the initial pledge more significant from the get go.  There are few things more convincing than someone making a compelling case for something and for them to be putting their own funds forward to support the cause in question.  So the idea my be that you can grow your initial sum by several fold, then take that sum and use it to catalyze a matching funds campaign. 

Please let us know if we can help with more details or suggestions along these lines, and thank you for your enthusiastic support!

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Sandra,

Your question is a very good one, and one we are often asked at WPT, and if you don't mind, I'm going to assume you're asking about field work on wild parrots. Although there is a lot of student interest in such work, I'm afraid there aren't a lot of slots out there waiting for new students to come along and show such interest. One short answer to your question is to simply spend time on Google Scholar searching for as many current papers on parrots, conservation, behavior, and the other things that interest you, read the papers, learn which professors are focused on things that interest you, and narrow down your search that way.

In addition, because parrots mostly live in countries other than where these graduate schools are located, there are nearly always language and cultural challenges which need to be addressed. If you haven't already traveled to the country or area in question, when possible, we encourage students to take the time to do so, and to try to visit field sites while they're there. That usually gives you a very clear and direct experience with all sorts of realities which will be crucial to designing and carrying out a successful field research program. It also helps you make a credible case when you're approaching the faculty members you've selected as to why you've chosen that country (or site or species), how you think you can get the work done, and what research questions you think are important and answerable.

In my experience, most faculty feel they have a full plate most of the time. But they are also inspired by new students who have shown initiative and have taken several steps toward the launch of a serious graduate research effort.

Best of luck, and I look forward to one day hearing from one of my parrot colleagues about this "highly motivated new student named Sandra ...."

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Hi Bart, Most of the Blue-headed Macaws in captivity outside of South America are to the best of my knowledge, in Europe. Only a small number are here in the USA, and I think you can still see them on exhibit at the Houston Zoo.

As you may know, CITES is an international agreement which primarily regulates trade in endangered species. If someone wants to move an appendix I or II animal from one country to another, then CITES permits may or may not be issued by the importing country and the exporting country depending on many details of the individual birds themselves.

Many countries, particularly in Europe, have domestic regulations and paperwork which hinge on the CITES Appendix where the species is listed, however they just use the CITES categories, but CITES as an organization is not involved.

There are a few facilities (mostly outside Europe) which are registered by CITES for captive breeding, primarily for crocodilians and a few raptors. A few species of parrots are listed - the list can be found here http://www.cites.org/common/reg/e_cb.html then click on "List of species" on the left hand side - but no Blue-headed Macaws.

I hope this helps,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Meike, First I have to say that I'm quite impressed that you have a wild caught Grey Parrot that may be as old as fifty years, that's quite remarkable in its own right. If that history is well documented, please let us know as that could be one of the longest lived Grey Parrots with a documented past.

Second, it's great that you've solved many of the problems Marcootje had when you first got him. Feather plucking can be especially difficult to resolve in any bird as has been discussed here and in the PsittaScene many times.

Third, I think you're heart is in the right place to try to find foods which are similar to what Marcootje at in the wild. That said, there are two reasons to be cautious here. On the one hand, your bird has been away from such foods for decades and so something which might be quite edible to a wild grey in Cameroon, might be quite dangerous for your bird to eat. On the other hand, I think it's quite unlikely that any of the really wild foods from the range of the African Grey are likely to be available in Europe. Some of these might be present in special indoor gardens, but I doubt these folks would take too kindly to your harvesting of their delicate tropical fruits, flowers, and the like!

The good news is that if your Marcootje likes destroying things, then providing him with fresh browse from trees and shrubs native to your area is likely to be something which will turn into both a fun and healthy activity for him over time. Of course, consult with other parrot keepers about the plants you have in mind to ensure that they are not dangerous for your bird, and introduce things slowly and in a supervised manner. I also recommend going to our forums and typing browse in the search box for additional discussions of this kind.

In any event, do bear in mind that if your parrot has lived for five decades and is still going strong, you're certainly doing something right!

All best wishes,

Jamie

Answered by Jamie Gilardi:

Dear Sandra,

You’ve asked and excellent, if difficult, question. As you know, parrots live in parts of the world which are generally quite different from where you’re likely to be (I’m assuming USA based on your ‘foot in the door’ comment). So field work is likely to involve different climates, different cultures, and nearly always different languages.

Some people are really interested in a particular species or region or habitat type and that interest should probably be a guide for where to get started. Find out who is working in that area or on that species in the wild, looking as broadly as possible, then start communicating as much as you can. What you’re after is pulling together enough background such that you can plan and carry out a trip to the area which will open your eyes to the realities and opportunities awaiting you on the ground there.

So, if you’re interested in macaws in Central America for example, you might want to spend some time in the Yucatan and then also in Costa Rica. If you make contact with researchers in both places, ask if you can visit and possibly volunteer on their projects, then line up a trip itinerary which will work to spend time in each area/project of interest.

When you get there, you’ll likely get an immediate feel for whether the place, people, language, habitat, etc. are a good fit for you. Some people get into a rainforest for the first time and they find the humidity and darkness to be incredibly uncomfortable, others find it to be comforting, beautiful, and rich. Of course, lots of parrots live in dry forests, or not even forests at all, and you may find that such open areas are either boring or spectacularly beautiful … depends on you!

The same issues hold for the species in question, your fellow researchers, and the local cultures – you may click, you may not, and the only real way to know is to go see for yourself. You may find that the cockatoo in your bedroom which is endlessly fascinating, is incredibly hard to see in the wild. Maybe just when you finally do see one, it flies off over a huge canyon and disappears over a mountain on the horizon.

When you do find a place which you find comfortable and exciting, keep your mind open about study subjects and questions. It may be that you really love this one particular macaw, but in fact, the more common parakeets in the area are much more easy to observe, and they’re clearly up to some interesting things worth studying. It might not even be a parrot, or not even a bird you end up studying … at that point, especially if you’re doing graduate work, you should focus on what you find to be intellectually most stimulating, challenging, and tractable, such that you become a great researcher in the end.

One thing to bear in mind is that most people with active research projects can always use functional people who are willing to volunteer and to really help out. But they also don’t have time to baby sit and they don’t want to deal with people who are just figuring out that the rainforest is rainy and sometimes you get wet! If you approach them and you’re honest about your experience and what you have to offer the project, and you make it clear that you’re willing to work, you’ll likely find people are quite receptive.

Good luck!

Jamie