Puerto Rican Parrot

The Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program is an effort to conserve, protect and manage the wild and captive populations of this endemic parrot in order to downlist the species from endangered to threatened, to establish an additional wild population and insuring that both groups are self-sustaining with an effective population size of 500 birds (5 year average) in each area. 

This program is a cooperative effort between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the US Geological Survey.  Mississippi and North Carolina State Universities are also active partners in the recovery efforts for the species. Interagency cooperation is essential for the successful recovery of the species.

The Puerto Rican Parrot is the only native parrot species in Puerto Rico and the only one remaining in the US. As of March 2006 there are 200 parrots counting both captive and wild birds. The Service periodically surveys the wild population. The wild population at the Caribbean National Forest may be declining and consists of less than 30 individuals. The Puerto Rican Parrot was listed as an endangered species in 1967.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT -- (pdf) (word)
Reintroduction of the Puerto Rican Parrot
Río Abajo Commonwealth Forest
Puerto Rico

What we do:

• Reproduce Puerto Rican Parrots in captivity.
  
  
• Release Puerto Rican Parrots into the wild.
  
  
• Monitor the Puerto Rican Parrot wild flock in El Yunque National Forest by conducting population surveys and monitoring nesting activitites.
  
  
• Design and conduct research to develop and refine techniques for the reintroduction of captive-raised parrots into the wild.
  
  
• Coordinate interagency efforts to protect nests and develop strategies to deal with predators and competitors.
  
  
• Provide Technical Assistance to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environment Resources through exchange of technology and expertise with the José L. Vivaldi Aviary.
  
  
• Promote international technology interchange by training biologists and technicians from different countries on the techniques used in Puerto Rican Parrot recovery program.