A Parrot Named “Blue” Keep this one to yourself if you can! Though Yellow-shouldered Amazons are usually green, blue variations have occasionally been sighted on Bonaire. The last blue parrot was spotted about seven years ago, but he was sadly caught by poachers. We hope this blue chick might fair better. In a flock or in a tree, he stands out by a mile. The unique coloration, we’re told, is the result of a mutation in which there is a lack of yellow pigmentation in the feathers, causing the green of the parrot’s body to become blue and the yellow head to become white. We’ve seen this blue bird a few times so far, and we’ll definitely be on the lookout for him again - watch your inbox for future updates!


Population Monitoring


Breeding season is the busiest time of year for the Echo team. Several of the nests we’ve followed over the last six years were not used by breeding parrots this year; some were taken over by bees, a problem we’ve been spending more of our time to fix. Echo’s Michaela and Ville performed their first nest inspections on Bonaire this year, hiking through woods and abseiling down cliffs to access difficult-to-reach nests. As part of our monitoring program, each new chick we found was fitted with an identifying ring around his or her leg. These rings allow us to follow their survival and to learn more about the population dynamics of the Yellow-shouldered Amazon.


The last blue parrot was spotted about seven years ago, but he was sadly caught by poachers. We hope this blue chick might fair better. In a flock or in a tree, he stands out by a mile. The unique coloration, we’re told, is the result of a mutation in which there is a lack of yellow pigmentation in the feathers… become white.


38 BIRD SCENE


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