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New research indicates that parrots are among the most threatened of all bird species with 28 percent of species classified as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Scientists, such as staff from BirdLife International and the Australian National University confirmed that 56 percent of all parrot species are in decline.
Reasons were put down to a wide variety of problems. Some of the most prominent being the loss habitat, hunting and trapping. Parrots are one of the most common groups to be captured for the wildlife trade.
The study also found that the risk of extinction is lower for pet species as the majority of domestic parrots are non-threatened. This is thought to be because parrot poachers prey on species that are easy to catch and more readily available. The illegal trade however, is rapidly driving a number of species towards extinction.
The study, ‘Ecological and socio-economic factors affecting extinction risk in parrots’ has been published in the February issue of Biodiversity Conservation.
