Yellow-eared Parrot

The yellow-eared parrot nests and lives among wax palms in a few areas of Western and Central Cordillera of Colombia, more widely known as the Andes Mountain Range, where it inhabits cloud forests about 1800–3000 meters above sea level. It nests in the hollow trunks of the palms, usually 25–30 meters over the floor level. It also occurred very locally in northern Ecuador. Its numbers have been greatly reduced, and only 81 individuals were recorded in the Colombian census of 1999. Their populations have been impacted by hunting and habitat destruction, particularly the harvesting of wax palm, which was traditionally cut down and used each year on Palm Sunday. There has been no confirmed record of this parrot from Ecuador since the mid-90s. The number of mature individuals in the population is 212, though it is thought that there is a total of 1,408 individuals in the wild. and Riosucio, Caldas in Colombia.

From 1998, Fundación ProAves with the support of Fundacion Loro Parque, American Bird Conservancy and CORANTIOQUIA have undertaken an intensive conservation project across Colombia that has led to one of Latin America's most successful recoveries of an endangered bird. As a result of the initial finding of this small population, Fundación ProAves Yellow Eared Parrot Bird Reserve has been founded to focus on recovering this species, along with the wax palm. Currently in Colombia, there are awareness raising events to reduce hunting pressure and the impact of Palm Sunday processions which involve poster campaigns, environmental education, community workshops, school visits, and radio. A publicity campaign, which included television and radio appeals, music concerts and a touring ‘Parrot Bus’ made for a huge increase in awareness of the problems facing the parrot and its habitat throughout Colombia. This campaign grew into an alliance of over 35 national NGOs, government departments, and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia. Through the endorsement by the Catholic Church, an end was brought to the use of wax palm fronds for Palm Sunday across a large part of the country of Colombia, and sustainable alternatives were promoted instead. A significant increase in the population can be attributed to the implementation of fencing and breeding sites to allow wax palm regeneration and habitat restoration and provision of artificial nest boxes. The Fundación ProAves owns two reserves where conservation efforts are focused on this species, one near Jardín and the other in Roncesvalles-Tolima. In 2009, ProAves, the Loro Parque Fundación, the American Bird Conservancy and others established a corridor of over 16,000 acres (including the acquisition of over 10,000 acres) for the yellow-eared parrot and other threatened parrots across the Central Cordillera in Colombia. Artificial nests have also been implemented in San Luis de Cubarral in 2011. With protection and community support, the yellow-eared parrot population has climbed to over 1500 individuals by 2012, with one of the most successful recovery projects for an endangered bird. In the future, searching for additional populations will become very important, especially for possible populations in Ecuador. There has also been talk of purchasing and protecting further habitats in these regions, along with making wax palm nurseries in order to replant those that were destroyed.