Red-necked Amazon

(Amazona arausiaca)

Project Status: Completed | 2001

Collaborators/Funders

Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF), Canadian World Parrot Trust, Donner Canadian Foundation, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Kyle Brown Legacy, Barbara Delano Foundation

Rare Amazon population numbers just fifteen hundred

The Red-necked Amazon (Amazona arausiaca) has had its population decimated by human disturbance.

Project progress: In 2001 WPT collaborated with the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation on Dominica for:

Purchasing a new all-terrain vehicle
Helping to purchase land for a preserve
Provision of educational bus
Monitoring the birds' ecology and status

Outcomes: The combination of habitat loss through the planting of bananas and coconuts, hurricane damage, hunting for food and trapping for the pet trade have reduced Red-necked Amazon populations. Successful local education, land preservation and conservation have reduced losses.

In 2001 the World Parrot Trust helped to fund the purchase of land for the creation of a national park to help protect these birds. The Canadian arm of the WPT donated $289,000 received through the Donner Canadian Foundation to the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation for their work in Dominica. Funds were used for monitoring and field research, a new all-terrain vehicle to navigate the rough roads in the area, land purchases to create a buffer zone on the edge of the national park, and to finish the Visitor Centre of the park. In previous years, the WPT has provided a successful education bus fitted out with video, audio and printed materials, to teach about the benefits of conservation.

WPT provided financial support for the conservation program again in 2010 and 2013 as a result of a visit by the annual Parrot Lovers Cruise.

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IUCN/CITES Status: Vulnerable / Appendix I

World population: 1200 - 1500

Where found: Dominica, Lesser Antilles, West Indies.

History: The Red-necked Amazon, Amazona arausiaca, is found around the Morne Diablotin Massif in N Dominica, with birds also in the far north (Morne au Diable region), east, south-east and centre of the island, and Morne Trois Pitons National Park in the south (Zamore and Durand 1998, Wiley et al. 2004, P. R. Reillo in litt. 2007). Hurricane David in 1979 caused the loss of a portion of the population (Zamore and Durand 1998), some of which has returned. Numbers have risen from as little as 150 birds in 1980, to as many as 1,500 mature individuals (P. R. Reillo in litt. 2012).

Threats:

Habitat loss at lower elevations caused by clearance for agriculture
Human-parrot conflict with farmers
Hurricane damage to habitat
Hunting and illegal trade

Ecology: The Red-necked Amazon is found from 300-800m (984-2624 ft) in the canopy of mountain rainforest, preferring Dacryodes excelsa stands. Was formerly a regular visitor to coastal areas. Birds feed on fruits, buds and some cultivated oranges, and are seen in pairs or small groups with larger flocks formed outside of breeding season. Roosting is at traditional communal sites and feeding early morning and evening.