Preserving the Last North American Parrot, the Thick-Billed Parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha)
The thick-billed parrot is North America's last remaining native parrot species, with its range now reduced to the high-altitude pine forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental and surveys placing the total wild population below 2,500 birds. Habitat destruction, climate-driven wildfires, and predation pressure have pushed the species to IUCN Endangered status, recognized as such by both the U.S. and Mexican governments.
In 2024, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance partnered with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to launch the SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) Thick-billed Parrot Program, building on decades of binational collaboration with Mexican conservation NGO Organización Vida Silvestre (OVIS) to monitor populations, conduct veterinary field work, and maintain genetically diverse assurance flocks at ten AZA-accredited institutions.
A centerpiece of the current effort is the design and deployment of custom predator-deterrent nest boxes in the Sierra Madres. The program's long-term aim is to stabilize and grow the wild population enough to achieve an IUCN down listing from Endangered to Threatened, ensuring that this iconic bird continues to inhabit North American forests for generations to come.
Two Nesting thick-billed parrots
Photo: © sergio1953 / CC BY-NC / iNaturalist