0fficial website of the Cape Parrot Working Group
Please contact us at info@capeparrottrust.org for more
information on Cape Parrot conservation and how you
can get involved...
Developed by AfricaSkyBlue Wilderness Foundation                                                                                                                    Copyright (r) Cape Parrot Working Group
Updated:  29/5/2009                                                                                Web Hosting by Yahoo!
Louis Warburton (c)
Current and future projects:

  • Amathole Cape Parrot Project:  Long-term
    study of the ecology of Cape Parrots in the wild
    (specifically tracking their long range movements);
  • Cape Parrot Big Birding Day:  Annual
    coordinated counts throughout their distributional
    range;
  • Wild-caught bird trade lobby:  Program in
    collaboration with the World Parrot Trust focusing on
    ending the wild-caught bird trade in Africa through
    legislation, law enforcement, community upliftment
    programs and support of captive breeding
    programs;
  • Cape Parrot Forum:  A network of birders living
    within the distributional range of Cape Parrots that
    report all feeding and breeding activity noted in
    their local area; and
  • Cape Parrot brand development:  An
    initiative to bring the Cape Parrot into the public eye
    through popular publications, television, news
    media, posters, magazines, and promotional work
    in local communities.  Primary aim:  To make the
    Cape Parrot as important as the Blue Crane in the
    eyes of South African.  These parrots are uniquely
    South African and heritage value to all South
    Africans.
  • Yellowwood planting program:  Gives
    landowners technical and logistical support in
    planting yellowwood trees in suitable locations;
  • The "Flying with the Capes" project will be
    launched in 2010, whereby we track the seasonal
    movements of Cape Parrots using radio-telemetry
    from a microlight aircraft and on foot.  We will also
    use aerial photography and GIS software to develop
    new ways of estimating forest condition, species
    composition, relative productivity, etc.
Partners:
www.capeparrottrust.org
CAPE PARROT TRUST
Heritage. Research. Conservation. Action
    Conservation aims of the Cape Parrot Working Group:
  • Have the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus, internationally-recognised as an independent species, upgraded to critically-
    endangered, and included in CITES Appendix I;
  • Erect 100 nest boxes in the Afromontane mixed yellowwood mistbelt forest along the Amathole mountain range before the end
    of 2009 as part of the Amathole Cape Parrot Heritage Project;
  • Study the feeding behaviour of Cape Parrots in the wild relative to the availability of these food resources in their natural habitat
    to better understand the pressures that force these parrots out of the indigenous forests;
  • Identify annual periods when Cape Parrots are vulnerable to capture (e.g. when feeding in pecan orchards);
  • Halt all illegal trade in Cape Parrots through public awareness programs (including a police awareness program) and
    investigative work towards prosecution of illegal traders; and
  • Continue to support and develop captive breeding programs for Cape Parrots.