A Century of Parrots

Book excerpt: This book tells the story of the trappers, dealers aand smugglers, also the collectors, who contributed to the decline of so many parrot species. However, during the last two decades of the 20th century countless parrot conservation projects and field studies were initiated. Conservation education programmes and parrot eco-tourism also played their part in arousing awareness of the value of parrots and forests in native people. Significant advances in knowledge of parrot biology and conservation had been made. And species were discovered that were previously unknown to science. During the course of the century the profile of parrots was raised from bird-brained mimics to avian masterminds; furthermore, as flagship species of the tropics, the presence of macaws and other parrots was protecting thousands of square miles of rainforest. Pretty Polly was at last being taken seriously!