Habitat Preferences of the Grey Parrot in Heterogeneous Vegetation Landscapes and Their Conservation Implications

Abstract

The wild Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus Linnaeus suffers from many habitat use challenges in the wake of extensive deforestation in its endemic range of West and Central African rainforests. To determine effects of these challenges on the bird species, seasonal densities of the Grey Parrot were determined using line transects in major heterogeneous vegetation types in the Korup Rainforest, south-western Cameroon. Results of the study highlight habitat preferences of this species on a seasonal base and under different situations of human activity intensity in the landscape. This information can be used to understand the causes of changes in the distribution and abundance of endangered species and also to determine sustainable conservation strategies. It is concluded that the parrot needs diverse vegetation types for survival in the wild state, as it depends on specific tree species for specific habitat resources such as food, roosts, security, and nests at specific periods of the year. Hence, the continuous survival of the Grey Parrot in the range states is not certain, if sustainable measures are not taken to conserve the parrot and its habitat resources both in and outside protected areas.

Congo Grey ParrotPsittacus erithacusdensities in oil palm plantation, agroforestry mosaic and protected forest in Southwest Cameroon*

“…The study was conducted in and around Korup National Park (KNP) in Southwest Cameroon ( Figure 1) congruent with the study area of the surveys in 2008-2010 by Tamungang et al (2016). Surveys were done between 23 March and 4 June 2016 during the pre-breeding season (pers.…”

“…The rainforests of the Korup region in Southwest Cameroon are still largely unfragmented (Kupsch et al 2019) and should therefore be an important stronghold of the species. Based on survey data from 2008 to 2010, Tamungang et al (2013) provided a population estimate for Southwest Cameroon as well as a more detailed assessment on habitat preferences in three landscape types (Tamungang et al 2016), however, Martin et al (2014b) criticised both their field and analysis methodology as deficient and prone to biases.…”

“…In order to update information from the same three landscape types, we collected data during the pre-breeding season 2016, c.7 years after the surveys of Tamungang et al (2016). We also report incidental observations on the trees used for feeding, breeding and roosting in order to inform assessments of habitat quality for the species.…”

“…We assumed that habitat quality and parrot abundance would vary with the availability of these resources. Based on Tamungang et al (2016), we expected to estimate higher parrot densities in a traditional smallholder agroforestry landscape compared to undisturbed primary forests or industrial oil palm plantations.…”

Nest Characteristics for the Conservation of the Grey Parrot in Cameroon

“…Other importance of a secondary forest to a primary forest for the Grey Parrot are that trees may be less congested and therefore provide good visibility for security thereby reducing predator access to nest contents. In a similar study carried out by Tamungang et al (2016a) in the South West Region of Cameroon, it was observed that the population of the Grey Parrot was higher in mixed secondary and farmland outside the Korup National Park than inside the park area (which was mainly primary forest).…”