Wiped Out?

I was reading an article about some endangered parrot species, and I saw that one of the most beautiful parrots is on that list. The Blue Throated Macaw has been endangered since 2009, and with only about EIGHTY adults left in the wild, they have slim chances of bringing their numbers back up. These birds only live in the remote jungles of Bolivia, so that country has made a conservation program to help the species make a comeback. If anyone is interested in more information, or is interested in donating money to these foundations visit parrots.org.

As I have been observing my parrot, I have really thought the birds on that list of endangerment. I've realized that man-kind must be careful of moving into their habitat, because these birds are so precious to the environment and play a large role in the ecosystem. In many places around the world, some species of parrots are hunted and killed for their colorful feathers or even for their eggs, so poaching is also a very big problem.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SLweL0FX9o

 

There have been accounts of people taking in some of these parrots while they are still very young and they cannot survive, and the bird eventually dies. Some people don't understand that if the parrot is born wild, it must live wild. Although, I can see why having one of these birds is so tempting they are very beautiful, but an undomesticated parrot is not a good pet to have. For more pictures and galleries on this macaw visit birdchannel.com.

 

 

I was researching some characteristics that parrots have and apparently they are zygodactyls, which means they have four toes on each foot, two pointing backwards and two pointing forward. I didn't realize this, until I looked at Sonny's feet and I saw for myself. I thought that was pretty awesome! But then I was thinking about the feet.. Of course! Two feet point backwards to grab branches! It all made sense, and surprisingly for herbivores parrots have large talons.

 

Field Notes 10/17/14 (Sonny's Feet)