Grey-breasted parakeets were once widespread throughout the Atlantic Forest areas of north-eastern Brazil. Ten years ago, however, this flamboyantly feathered bird was facing a bleak future. Deforestation, illegal hunting and poaching by wildlife traffickers had caused severe population declines and local extinctions in at least 15 areas where it had historically been found.
In a quest to uncover the true range of the species, the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), a partnership between Fauna & Flora International, BirdLife International and WCS, funded a project involving surveys covering 4,000 kilometres of forest roads and trails and about 100 interviews with local residents in Ceará State. With the exception of the discovery of one small remnant population, the team, led by Fábio Nunes, found no evidence of grey-breasted parakeets.
Their results confirmed that the species was restricted to only two adjacent areas in the Baturité Mountains, with 80% of the birds found in just one of these sites. “These parakeets were facing a number of threats, including a highly restricted range, very little remaining habitat, few available nesting sites, and pressure from poachers seeking to snatch the chicks for the pet trade,” explains Fábio.
The alarming discovery ignited renewed efforts to save grey-breasted parakeets from extinction. The results underpinned a government-led Conservation Action Plan for the species, and an international partnership between three NGOs (AQUASIS in Brazil, Loro Parque Fundación in Spain and ZGAP in Germany) went on to support Fábio’s next goal: to create the safe home that these birds so desperately needed.