Cape Parrot - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

The IUCN Redlist 3.1, which uses the Birdlife International checklist, lumps the common and widespread Grey-headed Parrot with Cape Parrots and Brown-necked Parrots, each of which are more narrowly distributed and more threatened, leading to an assessment of Least Concern. This contrasts with alternative assessments of the South African endemic P. robustus, as Endangered and possible threatened status of the Brown-headed Parrot of West Africa. There are only about 400 in the wild, and the Cape Parrot Project is trying to save them.

Hundreds of volunteers participate on the first weekend each May in the "Cape Parrot Big Birding Day" which is an annual count of the population throughout its distribution. The parrots are relatively easy to count at any forest patch due to their distinctive silhouettes, slow, 'rowing' flight and raucous calls. Counts are made in the evening as parrots arrive at roost patches and in the following morning as the parrots leave. A complete census of the population is difficult to achieve, however, as these forests are naturally fragmented and there are insufficient volunteers to count the more remote patches. There are also difficulties in achieving a precise count because the birds fly long distances for food and may be 'double-counted' at both feeding and roosting sites. Counts increased from about 500 specimens in May 2000 to over 1000 in recent years, although this may be largely explained by an increase in the particular sites that were counted. The parrots are particularly threatened by the fatal Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), a viral infection. Their habitat is being reduced by logging and modification of African Yellowwood trees, in particular the loss of old trees and dead snags with suitable nesting hollows. The provision of nesting boxes has had some success and offers some hope for increasing the proportion of breeding individuals.