Understanding Population Dynamics, Habitat Use and Threats to Grey Parrot

The Bird Conservation Fund (BCF) is teaming up with the African Bird Club (ABC) to raise $4,067 to for a project that focuses on a population of Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) at Lac Ndjale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—one of the most densely populated breeding sites recently documented for this globally endangered species. Although populations have declined sharply across Central Africa in the past few decades, little is known about the species’ breeding ecology or the scale of threats facing wild colonies, particularly in the DRC. This project, led by Sydney-Marie Jones of the University of University of Saskatchewan and the Lukuru Foundation, DRC aims to assess population dynamics and habitat use at a colony first reported to the scientific community in 2015, while collaborating with local communities to evaluate the impacts of illegal capture, habitat degradation, and wildfire.