BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Peter C." data-source="post: 1643810" data-attributes="member: 68872">:clap::clap::clap:...and to expand just slightly: In the neotropics, at least - probably everywhere - the pet bird trade is one of the major factors working against the conservation of certain wild birds, especially parrots. Since many parrots reproduce very slowly (the young needing a large investment of paternal care), loss of any one brood can be significantly detrimental to the parents' ability to replace themselves. Hence, the population as a whole suffers.As well, illegal traders will often hack off the top of a nesting tree, so as to get at the parrot chicks inside. This destroys the potential of the tree as a nesting site - and suitable nesting sites are becoming increasingly rare in tropical forests, especially for large species.</blockquote>