Eduardo removes a Scarlet Macaw nestling for routine measurement.

ThisyoungBlueandGoldMacawisbeinghand-reared,andwil/eventuallyrejointhewild flock

In sum, Nycander has shownthat macaws add up to more thanjust the sum of their colourfulfeathers. They actually are themost beautiful, tractable andversatile ambassadors for theendangered rainforests of Centraland South America. Macaws noware successful metaphors forecosystem conservation in theworld's most intact andbiologically diverse habitats - thepristine forests and savannahs of

the Peru-Bolivia border region. Allmacaw lovers should try to visitNycander's project sites in Peruand Bolivia for an unforgettableand unique wildlife experience.

Editors Note: If any reader wouldlike to consider visiting Tambopataor Manu forest reserves in Peru,they could contact Eduardo'scompany:-Rainforest Expeditions,Galeon 120, lima 41, Peru.Fax: +51.14.472497.Phone: +51.14.389325.

NEWTEAM TACKLESWORLD'S RARESTPARKOT ByPalliaHarris

Efforts to save the EchoParakeethave intensified in the aviary andin the wild with the appointment oftwo senior biologists to the project.

Kirsty Swinnerton did not haveto travel far to take up her newpost as manager of the Mauritiusgovernment's aviaries at BlackRiver. She simply descended fromthe campsite in the MacchabeForest where, since 1988, she hasled the field team reintroducingcaptive bred pink pigeons backinto the wild, as well as monitoringand managing the remaining wildpopulation of the aptly namedPigeon Wood. When Kirsty arrivedin Mauritius from the U.K., the wildpopulation of pink pigeonsnumbered less than 20 and thefirst attempt to reintroduce pinkpigeons into the island's RoyalBotanical Gardens had beenabandoned when the pigeons werekilled by predators ranging frommynahs to young boys withslingshots.

Captive populations in BlackRiver and at the Jersey WildlifePreservation Trust were wellestablished, however, so Kirsty

began new releases in a remotelocation and launched aprogramme of predator poisoningand supplemental feeding for thefree-living birds. By the spring of1993 the population had increasedthreefold, over 50 free-livingcaptive bred pigeons had beenreturned to the wild and had

themselves bred a new generationof wild pigeons - at least 20 at thelast count! Kirsty has also hadyears of hands on avicultureexperience, first at Twycross Zooand later coaxing captive pigeonsto breed and rear their own chicksin Black River. Now she will managebreeding programmes for thepigeon, Mauritius kestrel,Rodrigues fruit bat and the EchoParakeet.

Kirsty takes over the running ofthe aviaries from Dr. Leslie Smartwho spent a year working on theproject. Leslie did detailed studieson the nutrition of the parakeetswith Monica Wroebel, a CanadianZoo Biologist. The work of Leslieand Monica has left some soundmanagement techniques whichKirsty can now develop. KirstySwinnertonmeetsa friendlycockatooatParadisePark

5

EchosBreed in Captivity for theFirstTime

After a brief autumn holiday(including a visit to World ParrotTrust Headquarters at ParadisePark) Kirsty returned to Mauritiusto take up her new post and foundherself instantly confronted witha challenge. Only three of sevencaptive Echo Parakeets survivedwhen disease swept through theBlack River aviaries last spring, buttwo birds were an established pairjust approaching breeding age.Recently they laid two eggs. Bothproved fertile and both hatched,but one bird was obviously sicklyand died within days. Watching theadult birds closely, Kirsty couldsee that they were parentingpoorly and the surviving chick wasgetting little to eat. Hoping toencourage the parents to rear thechick, but anxious to ensure itreceived adequate food, Kirstyspent several days and nightsremoving the chick forsupplemental feeds and returningit to the nest. Sadly the adultparents did not improve and thechick became very feeble.

In the past, Echo eggs andchicks taken from the wild havebeen successfully reared by fosterIndian Ring-necked parakeets.When World Parrot Trustveterinarian Andrew Greenwoodvisited the aviaries following theEcho deaths in April, his testresults showed Gram negativebacteria and polyomavirus in someof the Ring-neck parakeets.University of Georgia lab results onsamples taken Jrom the dead Echossuggest two birds were negativefor disease, but two tests wereinconclusive and will be run again.

Kirsty faced a terrible dilemma:disease in the Ring-necked birdsmay be contributing to the Echomortalities, so it would be unwiseto give the newly hatched Echo tothe Ring-necked parakeets forfostering, but fostering may be theonly chance to keep the chickalive. Late night decisions weretaken with Andrew on thetelephone. Since the Echo parentsthemselves had been reared by

Ring-necked parakeets, thediseases (if any) may already havebeen transmitted to the chick.Little further harm could be doneby foster parents. The Echo chickis doing well under the Ring-necked fosters and Kirsty hopesremoval of the chick may mean theadults will cycle again.

World Parrot Trust Funds FieldBiologist

Thesecondnew member of theEchoParakeet team travelled fromNew Zealand to manage the wildpopulation as the World ParrotTrust's field biologist. Weasked rimLovegrove for his first impressionsof the project:

From Kakapo to EchosIn mid September I joined theteam on Mauritius where I am

running the field programme toconserve the Echo Parakeet. Duringthe past year I assisted with theKakapo conservation project onLittle Barrier Island in NewZealand. My previous eh'Perience inendangered species work hasincluded island translocations ofendemic New Zealand passerines, aPhD study of the effects ofintroduced predators (especiallyrats) on the saddleback (anendemic New Zealand wattlebirdnow confined to predator-freeislands); and surveys of threatenedforest birds on several islands inthe South-west Pacific.

In contrast with Kakapo, inwhich the 50-odd surviving birdshave been translocated to safeisland sanctuaries (where the onlypotential predator is the smallpolynesian rat), the Echo has to bemanaged in the degraded forestsof mainland Mauritius, where thebirds face a suite of potentialpredators.Unfortunately,at .present Mauritius has no suitableoffshore islands to which Echoscould be translocated. Mainlandmanagement involves the use ofvarious lifeline conservationmeasures such as predator control,habitat enhancement (e.g.provision of artificial nest sites, aswell as fixing old ones which have

~~

Looksa bit like a dog's breakfast, but this is actually the rarest parrot in the world.

6

AndrewGreenwoodandCarllonesin theaviariesonMauritius.

fallen into disrepair), supplementalfeeding and where necessary, broodmanipulation and captive rearing.

The mere fact that the Echo hasmanaged to survive for so long onMauritius in spite of the degradedhabitat and predators such as shiprats, monkeys, mongooses andferal cats suggests that it issomething of a tenacious survivor.It may be that manipulation of justone or two factors could besufficient to tip the balance infavour of the wild Echos.

Although the existing forest isoverrun with woody exotics, Ibelieve there is sufficient habitatfor many more birds thancurrently exist (15-20 according toKevin Duffy, my predecessor'smost recent estimate). Althoughthere are fewer Echos than Kakapo,I think that the potential forrecovery is much greater, mainlybecause they can breed every year.

Clearly it is important to ensurethat every nesting attempt in thewild is successful. Ship rats are theprime culprits as nest predators,and.an all-out effort is currentlyunderway to reduce rat numbers(by poisoning and trapping) in theknown territories of nesting pairs.Anti-coagulant poison has beenlaid in special bait stations(designed to reduce take by non-target species), for up to a monthbefore the birds are eh'Pected to lay.The poison is laid on 50 x 25 metregrids placed out to 100 metres on

all sides of the nest trees.At present three pairs of Echos

are being closely managed, butthere are two other pairs in thesame part of Macchabe Forest. Thelocations of their nest trees areunknown at present. We areendeavouring to locate these sothat predator control can beinitiated. However, locating Echonests is not easy, because the birdsare extremely secretive near theirnest. The birds can be very silentand they do not flush easily. Thusthe birds and their nests are veryeasily overlooked. Muchperseverance, and perhaps a goodmeasure of luck is needed tolocate them.

For the next five months I willbe assisted in the work by aDanish biology student, LineWadum, who will be studyingaspects of the conservation work(e.g. predator control, nest siteenhancement and manipulations),and breeding ecology for herthesis. When Line returns home,she and her partner MichaelIversen will continue to develop anew branch of the World ParrotTrust in Denmark.

TheEchoparakeet project isfinanced and managed l1ythejersey Wildlife Preservation Trust inco-operation with the ConservationUnit of the Mauritius Government.Generousfunding is received fromthe Mauritius Wildlife Fund and theWorld Parrot Trust.

= .