Good News: Ecuador Amazon Parrot Declared New Parrot Species

Bad news: There are only around 600 left.

Jessica Pineda

The Ecuador Amazon (Amazona lilacina) was considered a subspecies of the red-lored Amazon (Amazona autumnalis).

While other subspecies of A. autumalis primarily live in lowland forests, the Ecuador Amazon parrot relied on mangroves and dry forest. This difference in habitat made researchers wonder if this was a different parrot species altogether.

Mark Pilgrim, the director general of Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, led a study of the Educador Amazon parrot, and determined it was its own separate species.

The red-lored Amazon has a population of 5 milllion, while the Ecuardor Amazon has as few as 600 members.

The new species, A. lilacina, will be officially announced in Spring 2014.

Good news: A new species of parrot has been discovered. The Ecuador Amazon parrot, or Lilacine Amazon parrot, once believed to be subspecies of the red-lored Amazon parrot (Amazona autumnalis), was discovered to be its own separate species by a team of researchers from the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom.

Bad news: With the discovery of the new species, researchers realized there were only around 600 left.

"I studied this particular parrot for my PhD,” said Mark Pilgrim, Chester Zoo director general and head of the study of the Ecuador Amazon parrot, in a latest field news report from the Chester Zoo, "and found sufficient evidence for the bird to be recognised as a species in its own right, a crucial step in getting some much needed protection. As you can imagine, this project is close to my heart — it’s estimated that there may be as few as 600 Ecuador Amazon parrots left in the wild but more work is needed to confirm this.”

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Study offers snapshot of rare Ecuador Amazon parrot

23 May 2014 Last updated at 17:44

By Mark Kinver

Environment reporter, BBC News

UK researchers that headed to South America to learn more about one of the world's rarest parrots have returned with "more questions than answers".

A team from Chester Zoo spent three weeks studying Ecuador Amazon parrots.

The parrot was only reclassified as a species in its own right in December, before which it was deemed to be a subspecies of a common group of birds.

Only 600 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild, prompting the new species to be listed as Endangered.

"The truth is that we came back with far more questions than answers," explained expedition leader Mark Pilgrim, director general of Chester Zoo.

"Suddenly, there are a whole number of things that we didn't expect and we now have questions about."

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Chester Zoo sends an expedition to search for a rare parrot in Ecuador

January 2014: A team of 10 experienced conservationists, bird and horticultural experts, depart this month to survey the remote Cerro Blanco Forest in South West Ecuador, with the aim of tracking down and collecting vital data on the Ecuador Amazon parrot.

Until recently, the Ecuador Amazon parrot was considered to be part of a group and therefore not seen as a conservation priority, but it has been newly recognised as a species in its own right.

Years of research by the zoo’s director general, Dr Mark Pilgrim, has led to its reclassification, and a conservation action-plan is now being put in place.

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Discovery offers Ecuador Amazon parrot 11th hour hope

A South American parrot has been reclassified as a species in its own right, which could help save the bird from becoming extinct in the wild.

Until now, the Ecuador Amazon parrot was considered to be part of a group not seen as a conservation priority.

It is estimated that only 600 of the birds remain in the wild, which need two habitats - mangroves and dry forests - in order to survive.

The reclassification was based on years of work by a researcher at Chester Zoo.

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