Cape Parrots in Magoebaskloof

The Wild Bird Trust’s Cape Parrot Project is dedicated to conserving the critically endangered Cape Parrot and indigenous forests in South Africa.

We collaborate with local communities to restore forest habitats and uplift the people living close to these critical ecosystems.

By connecting community, conservation efforts, and scientific research, we’re working to preserve South Africa’s rich natural heritage and ensure the survival of the Cape Parrot.

Identification

The Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) is a medium-sized parrot with a large, powerful beak. The body and wings are green and the head and neck are golden-olive. Adults have patches of bright orange-red feathers on the ankles and the ‘shoulders’ of their wings. Most adult females have an orange-red blaze across the crown, which adult males lack. Cape Parrots are very noisy birds, calling to each other almost constantly while awake, even when flying.

Diet and Habits

The Cape Parrot relies heavily on yellowwood fruit, but has also adapted to eating exotic food sources – especially pecan nuts. Cape Parrots become active just before sunrise, often flying to a nearby dead tree to preen and socialise before leaving the area for the day. They return to their roost sites in tall trees around sunset.

They use existing tree hollows in mature hardwood trees as nest sites, with yellowwoods (Podocarpus and Afrocarpus species; South Africa’s national tree) being most favoured. Cape Parrots typically begin nesting in winter and fledge chicks in summer. They mate for life and can raise up to five chicks in each brood.

Threats

The Cape Parrot faces several threats to its survival:

• Loss of food and nest sites from the harvesting and degradation of forest habitat (especially mature yellowwoods)
• Effect of exotic Polyphagous shot-hole borer on feeding tree species.
• Capture for the bird trade
• Infection by  Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)
• Effects of climate change on rainfall and forest distribution

Addressing the threats through research

To better conserve the Cape Parrot, the Cape Parrot Project conducts research on various aspects of their ecology to develop effective conservation strategies to protect the Cape Parrot and its habitat and evaluate the success of our interventions. We aim to understand their breeding biology, diet and movement patterns, population trends, and prevalence of PBFD in the population. We also set out to understand the impact of contemporary logging and subsistence forest product use on habitat quality and nest-site availability in the forest.

Distribution and habitat

Cape Parrots are endemic to South Africa and are found in high-altitude forests ranging from the Amathole mountains in the Eastern Cape, into KwaZulu-Natal along the Drakensberg escarpment, with a small, isolated population in the Limpopo Province. They have been found in coastal forest, but it is not known whether they roost or breed there. They use existing tree hollows in mature hardwood trees as nest sites, with yellowwoods (Podocarpus and Afrocarpus species; South Africa’s national tree) being most favoured.

Conservation through communities and habitat restoration

Habitat loss is the greatest threat facing the Cape Parrot, and the limited extent of suitable remaining forest is a major factor inhibiting the recovery of the species. The Cape Parrot Project partners with local communities to restore forest habitat through employment of staff and supporting communal nurseries by buying back seedlings to plant in degraded forest habitat. The project also engages with nearby schools, offering  educational programmes which empower the children to be agents of positive environmental change for the indigenous forests.

You can support the Cape Parrot Project’s mission.

We rely on donations, large or small, to sustain our ongoing work. For corporates interested in sponsorship, we offer an opportunity to partner on various aspects of our work, providing regular reporting and collaboration on marketing and social media aspects.

https://www.wildbirdtrust.com/donations

Did you know: All South African donors, including individuals, benefit from tax deductions as the Wild Bird Trust is a registered Public Benefit Organisation.