Endangered Bird With Ankle Identifier Found on Lehigh University Campus

The bird was found with an ankle identifier, which means someone's probably looking for it right now

By Franki Rudnesky

Published at 5:41 PM EDT on May 11, 2018 | Updated at 5:52 PM EDT on May 11, 2018

This rare bird, believed to be a Sun Parakeet, was found on Lehigh University campus Thursday. Police are searching for its owner to hopefully return the bird home.

A rare, brightly-plumed bird was spotted on a college campus in Pennsylvania Thursday and police are now searching for its owner in hopes of returning the bird home.

Employees at Lehigh University in Bethlehem found a bird believed to be a Sun Parakeet, otherwise known as a Sun Conure, in a tree on campus.

The parakeet is an endangered species of parrot native to South America that can grow to be nearly two feet long.

Officers from the Lehigh University Police Department were able to place the bird in a cage. The bird, which police say is unharmed, was wearing an ankle identifier when found.

The bird has yellow, orange and green feathers, and its age is unknown.

The bird is currently being held at the Lehigh University Police Department while they try to track down the owner. Police have already received a couple of inquiries about the bird.

If you have information about the bird's owner, contact Lehigh University Police at 610-758-4200.

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More than a 38 percent of the Neotropical parrot population in the American continent is threatened by human activity

September 27, 2017

More than 38 percent of the neotropical parrot population of the American continent is endangered due the impact of human activity, according to a scientific study published in the journal Biological Conservation.

Hunting for local and international trade and the loss of natural habitat are the main threats for these tropical birds, according to the article led by the experts Igor Berkunsky (National University of Central Buenos Aires) and Juan Masello (Justus Liebig University, Germany). The study involved the collaboration of 101 experts from 76 institutions and non-governmental organizations to determine the main threats affecting 192 populations of 96 neotropical parrots in 21 countries.

From hunting pets to extinction

Capture for the pet trade is one of the main threats to the preservation of wild parrots. From 1980 to 1990, millions of individuals were captured in the neotropic and taken to the United States and Asia. This huge removal of parrots could be the cause of the decline and local extinction of many species, such as the Spix's macaw. In the African continent, the trade of the grey parrot played a main role in its removal in Ghana and other areas of Africa. Currently, some of the most threatened species in Brazil are the Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) and the red-tailed amazon (Amazona brasiliensis). Species such as the sun parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) and brown-backed parrotlet (Touit melanonotus) are quite vulnerable due the small size of their populations.

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