Avian Expert Articles

Ann Brooks

Ann Brooks is co-Founder of the Phoenix Landing Foundation, an adoption and education organization serving several east coast states. She loves to promote parrot care information that helps birds to thrive, and works with other Phoenix Landing volunteers to make good adoption matches. Her passion is nutrition and she wrote the “Nourish to Flourish” cookbook. She is a huge fan of the quality products offered by Lafeber.

Ann also organizes an annual Phoenix Landing eco-tour to support wild parrot conservation and research. That interest led to this Lafeber series, called “The Global Parrot.” She hopes others will also support the many dedicated scientists who are working so hard to preserve the parrots species we love and value so much.

Ann has lived with birds for over 30 years. Phoenix, her greenwing macaw, is the inspiration behind Phoenix Landing. Most birds need a succession of good homes, through no fault of their own. She realized that Phoenix should outlive her, and wanted to make sure there was a reliable adoption apparatus in place to ensure that Phoenix has a place to “land.” So she retired from her senior federal position to volunteer full-time with Phoenix Landing, which was 20 years old in 2020.

By 2020, Phoenix Landing had rehomed almost 3,100 birds. Some of these have even required more than one home because people’s lives often change. Adoption is a positive, not a negative, way to acquire a deserving bird. Phoenix Landing believes that parrots need to be protected across their long lives and probable multiple homes. Ann believes that adoption is inevitable and organizations that provide life-long protection for individual birds is essential. Ann is a member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians AAV and an IAABC-certified behavior consultant.

Articles by AnnB:

sun conure, sun parakeet

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight January 2024: The Sun Conures of Guyana

This month’s Lafeber Global Spotlight takes us to the village of Karasabai in Guyana, which is the only place wild sun conures (Aratinga solstitialis) can be studied in their natural habitat. Local rangers, with support through One Earth Conservation, are braving towering heights to study these raucous parakeets to document behaviors that can help shape conservation efforts for these eye-catching birds.

Scarlet macaw, scarlet parrot

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight December 2023: The Parrot Release Network

This month’s Lafeber Global Conservation Spotlight focuses on two organizations united to crack sustainable solutions for returning confiscated parrots back into the wild. Learn how the new Parrot Release Network aims to refine releasing protocols through rigorous global collaboration.

blue lorikeet; blue lory

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight November 2023: The Blue Lorikeet of the Cook Islands

This month’s Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight takes us to the Cook Islands, where Conservationist Luis Ortiz-Catedral recently conducted field research on the vulnerable Kurāmo’o lorikeet, also referred to as the blue lorikeet, on the tropical Cook Islands paradise of Aitutaki. This royal-blue parrot faces critical threats from invasive predators and devastating cyclones in the South Pacific. Now a coalition of conservation groups aims to study numbers and protect nests to aid in the blue lorikeet’s survival. Discover how research and community stewardship offer hope for vulnerable Pacific parrots like the blue lorikeet.

Santa Marta conure, Santa Marta parakeet

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight October 2023: Colombia’s Santa Marta Conure

This month’s Lafeber Global spotlight takes us to Colombia, where we learn how three organizations have banded together to expand local involvement to build shared stewardship for the endangered Santa Marta Conure. As habitat loss poses increased risk of declining populations, expanding local care of their cherished endemic bird may be the conure’s last lifeline.

great green macaw, green macaw

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight August 2023: Colombia’s Great Green Macaws

This month’s Lafeber Conservation Spotlight takes us to Colombia, where the Horizon Conservation Foundation has set its sights on increasing the numbers of Great Green Macaws in two of its native regions. A major initiative is to determine the macaws’ numbers in the wild and identify the threats they face. The foundation is also dedicated to educating and creating awareness in the local communities about the significance of macaw conservation through its tailor-made programs, with the goal of fostering a collaborative network. Learn more about Colombia’s Great Green Macaws and the Horizon Conservation Foundation’s work to save these critically-endangered parrots.

African grey parrots, Congo African grey parrots, grey parrots

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight June/July 2023: The Crucial Roles of IUCN & CITES

We depend on local communities, scientists, researchers, and international organizations to sound the alarm when a bird species is in trouble. Two organizations that are crucial to providing reliable information on endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species are the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Learn how IUCN and CITES play essential roles in documenting the
status of the species that provide our planet with biodiversity and help manage trade in a responsible way.

orange-bellied parrot chicks

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight May 2023: The Endangered Parrots of Australia

This month’s Lafeber Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight takes us to Australia, where the Difficult Bird Research Group (DBRG) is working to help conserve four at-risk parrot species: the orange-bellied parrot, the swift parrot, the superb parrot, and the palm cockatoo. See what makes each of these parrot species unique and what puts them most at risk, as well as learn more about DBRG’s work.

grey-chested parakeet; grey-chested conure

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight April 2023: The Grey-Breasted Parakeet of Brazil

This month’s Lafeber Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight takes us to Brazil, home to the grey-breasted parakeet (Pyrrhura griseipectus). This beautiful species of conure is critically endangered, with its humid mountain forest range reduced to a mere 13% due to habitat destruction and poaching for the pet trade. To combat their dwindling numbers, AQUASIS, a non-profit organization formed in 1992 by a group of university students, founded the Grey-breasted Parakeet Project in 2007. Learn more about the grey-breasted parakeet and the conservation work AQUASIS is stewarding to give these birds a fighting chance.

great green macaw

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight March 2023: The Great Green Macaws of Costa Rica

This month’s Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight takes us to Costa Rica, where the locals, who refer to themselves as “Titos” are deeply driven to protect their native lands and animals, including the majestic Great Green Macaw. Learn how María Elena Munguía Jiménez, a volunteer with the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN) sparked the idea of growing almond trees, which are crucial to the macaw’s survival, and how women rangers now oversee a network of nurseries with the goal of raising 7,000 trees by mid-2024.

yellow-headed Amazon parrot

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight February 2023: Yellow-Headed Amazons of Belize

Yellow-headed Amazon parrots are fairly common as pet companions, but their wild counterparts are quickly declining in their native habitats. This month’s Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight takes us to Belize, where the Belize Bird Rescue (BBR), in close collaboration with TIDE (Toledo Institute for Development and Environment), has been leading conservation efforts to save and rehabilitate vulnerable yellow-headed Amazon chicks as well as rehabilitate former captive parrots for release back into the wild.

Cape Parrot

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight January 2023: The Cape Parrot of South Africa

In December 2022, South Africa named the Cape parrot as its Parrot of the Year. This unusual and highly endangered species (Poicephalus robustus) inhabits isolated patches of forest in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Naal and Limopo areas of South Africa, the only country where it can be found. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates […]

African grey parrot, Congo grey, grey parrot

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Congo African Greys of Nigeria

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to Nigeria, where conservationist Ifeanyi Ezenwa has turned his love for nature into becoming a conservationist to help African grey parrots in their native area.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Yellow-Naped Amazons of Guatemala

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to Guatemala, where One Earth Conservation, an organization co-founded by LoraKim Joyner, DVM, and Gail Koelln, carries on the fight to save yellow-naped Amazons in their native region.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Timneh Grey Parrots in Sierra Leone, Africa

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to Sierra Leone, Africa, where the World Parrot Trust (WPT) is hard at work developing conservation strategies to help save endangered Timneh African grey parrots. This includes protecting their habit and protecting them from poaching, as well as bringing local leaders, community members, conservationists, and government officials together to discuss the actions needed to conserve and protect Timneh parrots.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Scarlet Macaws of Tambopata, Perú

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to Perú, where the Macaw Society has been researching and advancing the conservation of the scarlet macaw (Ara macao macao) inside the Tambopata National Reserve, southeast Perú, for over 20 years.

wild great green macaw flying

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Great Green Macaws of Costa Rica

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to Costa Rica, where the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN)is leading the charge to help increase the population numbers of the great green macaw. For a critically endangered species like the great greens, every egg matters. See the great lengths MRN goes through to give every egg a chance of hatching and fledging.

side view of perched Kea parrot

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: New Zealand Keas

This month’s Lafeber Conservation spotlight takes us to New Zealand, where the NZ Parrot Trust is leading the charge to help increase the population numbers of the curious and sometimes mischievous Kea parrot — the only mountain parrot species in the world! Learn why these parrots’ ferocious chewing tendencies can pose a hazard to themselves, and what is being done to protect them.

blue-and-gold macaws

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Urban Birds Project–Macaws In The City Of Campo Grande, Brazil

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to the metropolitan city of Campo Grande, Brazil, where the Instituto Arara Azul is helping wild blue & golds and other macaws thrive in the city. As human encroachment consumes many parrot species’ native lands, helping them thrive in the city environments that encircle them is an innovative idea, and perhaps a critical one for the survival of some parrot species.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Echo — The Parrots & People Of Bonaire

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to a small island in the Caribbean — Bonaire, home to the yellow-shouldered Amazon parrot. The conservation group Echo is dedicated to ensuring a stable and growing population of this endangered parrot by reducing habitat degradation, restoring the parrots’ habitat, and reducing the poaching of chicks.

scarlet macaw

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Macaw Recovery Network In Costa Rica

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Costa Rica, where the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN) and its teams of volunteers are monitoring and protecting the critically endangered great green macaw across Costa Rica, scarlet macaws in Guanacaste province, and the endangered yellow-naped Amazon across its range in Costa Rica.

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Guatemala & the Scarlet Macaw

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Guatemala, where the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has strived to help macaws by building nesting sites, monitoring fledging rates to determine macaw population, and growing support from the surrounding community through education and outreach programs.

blue-throated macaws

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Bolivia & the Blue-Throated Macaw

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Bolivia, where CIESA-the Endangered Species Research Center is working toward establishing a breeding program to reintroduce blue-throated macaws back to the protected area of Gran Mojos–Loreto.

11 lovebirds perched on leafless branches in a tree

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: African Lovebirds

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Africa, where conservationists are surveying the population distribution of lovebirds, as well as helping their numbers grow with the help of nest boxes.

Glossy Black Cockatoo pair on branch

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Glossy Black Cockatoos of Kangaroo Island

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Australia’s Kangaroo Island, where glossy black cockatoos are still struggling to recover from the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires that raged through their natural habitat.

hyacinth macaws

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: The Pantanal of Brazil

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Brazil, where the Instituto Arara Azul is fighting to save the majestic hyacinth macaw in its native Pantanal region.

African grey parrots in cage habitat

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Africa—Nigeria & the Democratic Republic of Congo

  Africa is the native land to several old-world parrot species. This month we will look at the ongoing work to protect the Congo African grey in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These parrots are quite beloved and famed in captivity, but their very existence in Africa is in serious jeopardy. While […]

cockatoo on branch outside

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Indonesia

Lafeber’s latest Conservation Spotlight takes us to Indonesia, where The Indonesian Parrot Project (IPP) has spent the past 20 years supporting conservation efforts for many parrot species, including Moluccan cockatoos, Eclectus, various other cockatoos, great-billed parrots, and lorikeets.

blue-and-gold macaws on tree

Lafeber’s Global Parrot Conservation Spotlight: Bolivia

Wild parrot conservation groups are working hard to protect a wide diversity of parrot species. Lafeber is committed to helping as well with our Global Parrot conservation grant. This month’s spotlight takes us to Bolivia, South America, where the Conservación del Loro Boliviano Foundation is fighting to save macaws and other parrot species.

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