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Psittacula eques
– Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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AVES
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Order:
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PSITTACIFORMES
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Family:
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PSITTACIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Psittacula eques
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Species Authority:
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(Newton & Newton, 1876)
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Synonym/s:
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Psittacula echo (Newton & Newton, 1876)
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Common Name/s:
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MAURITIUS PARAKEET (Eng)
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Taxonomic Notes:
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Use of the specific name eques follows Collar and Stuart (1985).
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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EN B1ab(iii); D ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2007
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Assessor/s:
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Birdlife International
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Evaluator/s:
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Bird, J., Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority) & Ndang'ang'a, P.K. (BirdLife International - Africa)
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Justification:
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This species has been downlisted from Critically Endangered following a steady and prolonged increase in the wild population as a result of intensive recovery management. However, its overall numbers are still small, and the population is restricted to a small range within which habitat continues to decline. It therefore qualifies as Endangered.
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History:
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| 1988 | - | Threatened (Collar and Andrew 1988) |
| 1994 | - | Critically Endangered (Collar, Crosby and Stattersfield 1994) |
| 2000 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2000) |
| 2004 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2004) |
| 2006 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2006) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Psittacula eques survives in south-west Mauritius, having become extinct historically on Réunion (to France). From the 1970s to the mid-1980s the 10 or so known birds appeared to suffer almost total breeding failure. However, breeding subsequently began to be successful, and in 1993-1994 there were 16-22 birds (including five pairs, three of which bred but without success) with an additional captive pair which produced one young in 1993. During the 1996-1997 breeding season there were 13 known wild pairs with a total of 50-61 birds present at the end of the breeding season restricted to an area of c.50 km2 contained within the 65.74 km2 Black River Gorges National Park in the south-west of the island5. In 1998 the wild population stood at 59-73 birds, with 14 captive-bred or captive-reared birds having been released at Macchabé-Brise Fer since 19978. The rapid increase in population since 1995 is due primarily to intensive management of the wild population, the discovery of previously unknown breeding birds and an increase in the number of breeding groups that attempt to breed each year7. There are now 15 known wild breeding groups9. In the 1999/2000 season, 19 pairs were known in the wild, 16 pairs laid eggs and 12 pairs were successful in raising 19 young, so that the population in January 2000 stood at 106-126 wild individuals14. There was also a captive population of 33 birds held at this time at the Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary, Black River14. Since that time the population has continued to increase to 55 pairs (280-300 birds in the wild) in February 200515. This species occupies only c.40 km2 of remnant native upland forest and uses only around 50% of this regularly10.
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Countries:
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Native:
Mauritius
Regionally extinct:
Réunion
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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This species now survives in forest and upland scrub1, with lowland, intermediate and scrub forests being very important feeding areas3. It appears to be a strictly arboreal forager, feeding mainly on native plants and taking a wide range of parts including buds, young shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, twigs and even bark and sap3. Birds forage singly or in small groups in different areas at different seasons and are known to travel several kilometers to and from feeding areas in search of food, although the dwarf forest and scrublands of the south-west plateau are an important foraging area throughout the year3. Nesting takes place in natural cavities in native trees2. Clutch size is 1-4 (but normally 2-3) eggs, which are laid from September-December7, and hatching success is high14. Fledging takes place from the end of October to the beginning of February or later, and fledgling parakeets are reputed to stay with their parents, being fed by them for at least 2-3 months after leaving the nest3. One possible reason for the marked increase in the number of pairs attempting to breed each year is the species' increasing utilisation of exotic plants for food, particularly the very common strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum and star fruit Averrhoa carambola7,14.
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System:
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Terrestrial
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Threats
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Threats:
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This species' earlier decline and contracting distribution corresponds to the severe destruction and degradation of its native habitat2,3. Areas of upland native forest remain but these continue to be highly degraded by cyclones, the influences of past forestry practices, the spread of introduced plants such as guava Psidium cattleianum, privet Ligustrum robustum and Jamrosa Syzygium jambos and the effect of introduced feral mammals such as pigs Sus scrofa and Rusa Deer Cerus timorensis2,7. The production of native fruit, on which the parakeet feeds, and regeneration of potential nest trees is thus poor2. Recent research suggests that food shortage due to deterioration of the native forest is the major cause of nest failure; although exotics can provide an abundant food source it is not available year-round or even throughout the breeding season7. Crab-eating macaques Macaca fascicularis and black rats Rattus rattus are amongst a number of introduced arboreal species which pose a threat to parakeets by raiding nests and competing for native fruits2. Bees Apis melifera, White-tailed Tropicbird Phaeton lepturus, and introduced Common Myna Acridotheres tristis and Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri are all nest site competitors and can displace active breeding pairs7,14. Surplus male P. eques (there is a male: female ratio of c.3:1) also disrupt some breeding pairs and possibly kill young birds14. Infestations of nest fly larvae can be severe in some years and, without intervention, would kill many young14. More recently Psittacene beak and feather disease (PBFD) has been recorded but its impacts are not yet known16. Pesticides do not seem to have significantly affected the species2.
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Conservation measures underway:
The dramatic increase in the species's population in recent years is undoubtedly due to an intensive programme to manage the wild population combined with a highly succesful captive breeding programme-a collaborative effort of the World Parrot Trust, the Mauritian Government and the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust Society2-which has released 22 captive-reared individuals (of which at least 13 still survive) since 199714. Intensive management includes nest site enhancement, provision of nest boxes (not yet used), supplementary feeding of some individuals, predator control around nest sites, control of nest competitors (White-tailed Tropicbird Phaeton lepturus), control of nest parasites, close guarding and monitoring of all nests, rescue of eggs/young from failing nests, clutch manipulations (double clutching, exchanging infertile eggs with fertile ones), and brood manipulations (downbrooding, ie removing extra chicks from large broods and giving to foster parents)14. Habitat management has been directed at increasing the productivity of native forest and has included the foundation in 1993 of the Black River National Park in 6,574 ha of remaining native forest2,4. Conservation Management Areas (CMAs-see "Pink Pigeon" account) are heavily utilised as their trees produce bumper crops14. Research is ongoing into present and historic genetic variation of the species so that the effects of the population bottleneck can be quantified and current populations managed to preserve maximum genetic diversity5. Non-invasive exotic fruit trees are being planted to provide an extra food source10.
Conservation measures proposed:
Improve nest site management6,9. Feed wild birds with supplementary food6,9. Increase production of birds for release by controlling disease and improving diet of captive birds6,9. Establish new, and improve existing (in part by the use of predator proof fencing14), CMAs9,14, and establish managed source populations breeding in nest boxes within these areas14. Develop current use of Ring-necked Parakeets Psittacula krameri in the captive-breeding programme11. Establish a wild population of 200 birds by the end of 2003, partly through increasing releases of captive-reared birds to up to 30 birds per year over the next 3-5 years12. Establish a wild population of 300 birds by the end of 201014. Redress the sex ratio through judicious harvesting of surplus male nestlings and releasing mainly young females14. Consider reintroduction to Réunion and introduction to the Seychelles, where Psittacula wardi is extinct14. Research the potential impacts of PBFD on the population.
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