The Golden Conure, also known as the Queen of Bavaria Conure, is referred to as the Golden Parakeet in South America (Guaruba guarouba). It is endemic to Brazil and is one of the most trafficked New World parrots due to its brilliant and beautiful yellow plumage. I had the enormous privilege of meeting a few individuals in 2012 at the Lymington Foundation in the state of São Paulo, where they are part of a special breeding program seeking to salvage a rapidly declining population.
The Lymington Foundation was started in 2004 by an American couple, Bill and Linda Witikoff. It is now managed by famed Brazilian scientist, Luís Fábio Silveira. He is also the curator of birds at the University of São Paulo’s Museum of Zoology (MZUSP). Luís and biologist Marcelo Vilarta are part of the Golden Parakeet reintroduction project. This project is supported by the Institute for Forest Development and Biodiversity (IDEFLOR-Bio) and the Lymington Foundation.
While Golden Parakeets are more readily available now from captive-breeders, they remain threatened with extinction in the wild. They are currently listed by the IUCN as vulnerable, and on CITIES as Appendix 1, with fewer than 10,000 remaining in the wild. Like so many other parrot species, they face continued threats of deforestation and wildlife trafficking. It is especially devastating when traffickers cut down trees to capture the chicks because they are simultaneously destroying rare and much-needed nest cavities.
Flying the Skies Again in Belém, Brazil
But there is some growing good news. In 2017, Marcelo Vilarta and his team set up two aviaries in the Utinga State Park, a green space in the heart of Belém in northern Brazil. Golden Parakeets have been extinct in this area for over 100 years. Belém is the capital and largest city of Brazil’s state of Pará, and it is the gateway to the Amazon River. Its metropolitan area population is estimated at 2.5 million. Belém has also been chosen by the United Nations to host the COP30 climate summit in 2025.
The Utinga State Park aviaries can hold up to 10 Golden Parakeets at a time. The selected birds come from the Lymington Foundation’s captive breeding program and are chosen for their flight and socialization skills. Once established in the aviaries, they are taught to forage, recognize, and eat the kind of vegetation they will find when released – such as acaí berries and nance. They are also taught to recognize potential predators such as boa constrictors.
Once the aviary birds develop the skills required for survival, they are released into the park, which is 60% primary rainforest. Since 2018, 50 individuals have been reintroduced to the wild and, 40 of these have dispersed to surrounding areas. Each is retrofitted with a leg ring and radio collar, although tracking can be a challenge. The remaining 10 parakeets still linger in the park and visit the enclosures with the next group of parakeets in the aviaries.
For three years following the initial releases, it was discovered that the birds fed on 23 different plant species, 13 of which had not been known earlier. Golden Parakeets are critically important to seed dispersal of the acaí and nance, as well as 21 other plants native to the Amazon. Therefore, their existence is important to the overall health of the Amazon and Belém region!
This month’s Lafeber donation goes to support the Golden Parakeet reintroduction project and the hope it gives to the future of this stunning, rare species! If you would like to learn more about the feeding ecology of reintroduced Golden Parakeets, here is a very informative study.