Thick-billed parrots are adorable green birds with specks of red and orange with calls that sound like laughter. They're the only surviving parrot species native to the United States — and they used to roam from Texas and Arizona all the way down into Venezuela.
Forest fires, deforestation and parrot smuggling have reduced their population drastically in the last century.
The species is now classified as endangered. The only wild population of thick-billed parrots lives in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains, high up in old growth pine forests.
But this year, there was good news: A census of the thick-billed parrot population in the Sierra Madre showed an increase of 10% over a span of 12 years. The birds are doing better.
So how did the thick-billed parrot survive?
For years, conservation organizations like OVIS (Organización Vida Silvestre) and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance have been collaborating on a multi-faceted conservation project to save these birds. Short Wave host Regina G. Barber and producer Rachel Carlson dive into the details of that project — and how tiny "bird backpacks" are helping to make it all happen.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.
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