Urban parrots in Sothern South America: Conservation challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Data on the interactions between the order Psittaciformes and the anthropogenic environment are still insufficient and have not been systematized, especially in the Neotropical region. This is despite the fact that cities are the everyday territory shared by these birds and the vast majority of those of us who study them. As a consequence of this coexistence, the volume of accumulated knowledge is probably significantly greater than the formal scientific contributions on the subject. In this survey, information was compiled on the wild parrots inhabiting cities in the Southern Cone of South America, based on surveys with key informants. The results obtained highlighted the presence of a large number of parrots species that form part of the urban avifauna of the region, between 67% to 90% of the total number of species of the order cited for each territory evaluated. The greatest species richness and the number of breeding species was associated with the large cities located in middle and low latitudes. We confirmed breeding within the cities for more than 40% of the species mentioned. Seventy-five per cent of the species reported are native to the study area, the rest originating from other regions of South America or other continents. Quarter of the reported species are considered threatened and almost 50% have declining populations. Urban parrots represent a challenge in the search for urban models compatible with biodiversity conservation, in the designing of innovative conservation strategies that respond to the new challenges posed by a constantly growing human population.