Blue-headed parrots

(Pionus menstruus)

Individuals

The group consisted of 15 individuals with various backgrounds. Nine were transferred together in 2009 from another center, two were confiscated at the police control in Mera, Pastaza, Ecuador, three were brought in by the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador, and one was found in a street by citizens of Mera. Nine of them were not able to fly when they arrived

because their primary flight feathers were cut. All birds were in quarantine for a minimum of 60 days before being integrated with the other blue-headed parrots. All the birds were treated against parasites.

Below is an overview of the individuals (A minor problem was considered when birds had lost feathers, or weight. A major problem was considered when they

were unable to fly or had eye problems).

Problems upon arrival	Days spent in cage	Paired	Success
Major	620	No	Yes
Major	961	No	Yes
Major	2087	Yes	Yes
Major	2312	Yes	Yes
Minor and major	2508	No	Yes
Major	2612	Yes	No
Major	2650	Yes	Yes
No	2650	Yes	No
Minor and major	2650	no	Yes
No	2650	Yes	No
No	2650	No	Yes
No	2650	Yes	Yes
Major	2650	Yes	Yes
Minor and major	2650	Yes	Yes
Minor	2650	Yes	Yes

Release site

A habitat assessment was executed to see if it was adequate for release. Several water sources have been located in proximity of the release site, fruiting trees were found around the site and tested in their diet. Apart from that, this species needs clay in their diet, which can also be found at the release site. As blue headed parrots normally roost in tree cavities, the area was assessed for that as well. Furthermore, the release site is located at an altitude of 1300m above sea level. Blue headed parrots can be found up to 1500m above sea level. The site is composed of 60% secondary forest and 40% primary forest. This species can live in a disturbed habitat and can live in close proximity to humans. Trap cameras were used to assess which possible predators and competitors for food were present in the area. The main predators of the birds within the area are birds of prey, snakes and monkeys. Their main competitors are other birds, and blue headed parrots have been spotted in the release area. Other rescued animals can be found around the release site such as parrots, monkeys, and kinkajous. They can be a cause of stress or danger.

Home range size for this species is unknown, but the release site is located within the wildlife rescue centre of Merazonia in Ecuador. This is an area of 100 hectares (250 acres). The rescue centre is located between two national parks (Llanganates National Park and Sangay National Park). The parrots are therefore in a large protected area.

The group was released from their original cage. Three different feeders were placed around the cage at different heights to support them with food in their initial release stage. The first was 2.5 m high and located 2 m in front of the enclosure; the second was 3.5 m tall and located at 2 m behind the cage; and the third at 4.5 m high with a pulley system, situated 23 m in the valley between the river and the enclosure.

Pre-release adaptations

It was chosen to have a soft release as this allows for a better follow up and in general a better release success. The birds did not know the area yet so whilst they were getting to know the area, they were still getting supplemented with food and shelter. Eight months before the release the release team started blowing a whistle every time they were about to feed them. The idea behind this was that once they were free, the sound of the whistle would lead them back to the feeding platforms placed outside their enclosure, where they could feed them during the initial months of the release. It was chosen to release them from their cage (as this is in protected area) and to leave this door open for them afterwards for shelter. This was done because it was predicted that they would come back to these feeders close to the original cage.

Before release all the birds got a general health check (weight, overall appearance), their flying abilities got tested (by seeing if they could fly around the length of the cage) and their behaviour was assessed. If they showed any interest in humans, they could not be released. Furthermore, all the birds were treated with Promectine (Imovec 1%) p.o 0,2 mg/kg and Panacur (11mg fendendazol) p.o 25 mg/kg. Both products act against parasites. They were also treated with Doxycycline (100 mg/kg) every 5 days on 9 occasions to avoid the risk of psittacosis caused by Chlamydia psittaci. This disease can cause infections analogous to a flu illness and even lead to fatal interstitial pneumonia. The effects vary strongly among individuals and can cause problems for birds released in the wild. They could only be released if they passed all these parameters (good weight, overall health, being able to fly, be free of any parasites, eat wild berries and show natural behaviours and not show interest in people).

The parrots were released as a group since numerous sources say it is important to release parrots in flocks as it increases their ability to detect predators and enables the sharing of predation risk among individuals. Although wild parrots eat and fly together in flocks, most studies on this group indicate that the fundamental, permanent social unit is the pair.

A few days before the release, the parrots were divided into two groups, separating the couples.

Parrots were considered in pairs when they ate together, and cleaned, protected, and followed each other in the enclosure. They could be individually identified by their PIT-tag in the pectoral muscle (model TIS-8010 from Datamars).

Parrots mate for life, and this method was used to give the first group the opportunity to explore the surroundings, while keeping them close to the enclosure to see their partners. This technique prevents them from flying away instantly and getting lost. When the second group was released two days later, group one was able to show them the ropes of life outside.

Four days before the release, two birds had been fitted radio-transmitter on their tail (model PIP3 of the Company Biotrack with a Battery Ag392 of the Type tail mount with a weight of 2.5 grams (1% of the body weight). A telemetry system from the company Telonics was used to follow them.

Housing and care

The 15 blueheaded parrots were housed in an enclosure of 8m x 4m x 3m. Caretakers entered the enclosure once a day to feed and clean. They were provided with a diet of various fruits, corn and yucca. Also, they got daily enrichments which varied. As they were getting closer to release, more wild fruits/berries and flowers that can be found around the release area were implemented into their diet.

Post-release

On January 26th , 2017, the day of the release of group A, the three feeding stations were filled before opening the enclosure. The cage was opened for the first group so that parrots could leave and return to the enclosure at their leisure. Each behaviour (exit the cage, enter the cage, eat, fly, interact with other individuals, interact with humans) was monitored by focal sampling while the birds exited the cage. If birds had not left, or returned to the enclosure by sundown, the door was closed for the night and reopened the next morning. This continued until no bird entered the cage for a period of more than one week. After that, the cage was officially closed and locked.

The monitoring continued for about three months after initial release. A release was considered successful if a bird was alive at the end of the monitoring period as well as completely independent of humans (no contact with humans and no use of the feeder). 12 (80%) of the 15 blue headed parrots reached independence 77 days after release. The remaining three individuals were alive, but still used the feeders. One year after their release, a minimum of 2 individuals have been observed constructing nests. In February 2018, two of the three parrots that remained partly dependent upon feeders joined the rest of the group. On March 2018, only one parrot continued to use the feeders and the release group could still be seen within a radius of 500 meters from the enclosure.

The soft release therefore lasted for 77 days, although outside feeding continued for the one parrot after.

Things you would have done differently

In hindsight the use of telemetry equipment did not prove to be useful. The use of telemetry did not improve detectability of the released birds. The first transmitter was lost on the first day. The second bird was only detected when near the cage or in an open area. Merazonia is surrounded by mountains and dense jungle. This dense jungle and mountainous terrain could have contributed to signal loss and inhibited the use of this type of radio transmitter.

Furthermore, wild Saddle-back tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) were a problem because they scared the birds on the feeders when they arrived and stole the food. Changing the diet towards food that tamarins dislike could solve this problem.

Another thing which would've improved their release was the use of a higher cage, with doors that are higher and which could be opened for their release. At the time this was not available, but another cage is built in the meantime that is being used for future releases.