Welcome to our second issue of 2010. It’s April already, and we at Parrots International are busily preparing for our annual Symposium next month. In the special announcement on the Home page you’ll find a link to the Symposium website and another which will take you directly to the section devoted to our speakers and the topics they’ll be presenting. It’s an impressive line-up.

Our section dedicated to parrots In the Wild looks at no less than four endangered species. For our special feature, we travel to the Bahamas - Great Abaco and Great Inagua Island, in fact - where Caroline Stahala has been assessing the new management plan designed to preserve the fascinating Bahama Parrot.

David Waugh of Fundación Loro Parque writes on how the demise of the Grey-breasted Parakeet has been averted by the establishment of a recovery programme in its native Brazil, and we move to South Africa to hear how an injured wild Cape Parrot - indigenous to the area in which Craig Symes grew up - was responsible for what has turned out to be a life-long dedication to the preservation of this species. From the Netherlands, Roelant Jonker and Grace Innemee from City Parrots share their intriguing and novel views on how this organization can help with the conservation of endangered species.

An interesting relationship between a motor manufacturer and a conservationist provides the background to Making a Difference in this issue. Toyota Brazil has been a sponsor of Neiva Guedes’ Hyacinth Macaw Project for the past 20 years, donating test vehicles to enable her to negotiate some pretty hostile terrain to carry out her research work, and also supporting the project with funding. Neiva tells how this sponsorship has enabled the Project not only to continue its work, but to flourish as well.

On the subject of Companion birds, Dorothy Schwarz shares her most entertaining - and also very poignant - diary of day to day life with the Amazons in her flock, Leah Lemieux writes a wonderfully heartwarming account of how a dear little Goffin’s Cockatoo has turned her life upside down, and Stewart Metz provides the first of two very moving and thought-provoking articles on the needs of captive parrots. His words are haunting and will leave you reflecting deeply on the suffering of too many pet birds.

The beautiful Black-winged Lory is a species in danger of disappearing from Aviculture, says Rosemary Low - and she examines the reasons for this situation. If you’re a Lory enthusiast living in the United Kingdom, do remember Rosemary’s forthcoming Lory Meeting on 13th June - details in our Parrot Events section on the Home page.

Avian specialist, Neil Forbes, tackles a somewhat distasteful, but important topic in our Health section - tick-related diseases which affect aviary and cage birds. Ticks are a subject about which most of us prefer not to think, but if you have birds which are housed outdoors, Neil provides some sound advice for their safety.

If you enjoyed Peter Odekerken’s contribution on parrot-watching in South-west Australia in our last issue, you’ll be interested to read Marie Stafford’s review of his recently-released DVD, Save the World’s Parrots. Marie has been totally captivated by Peter’s documentary, which features a staggering number of some of the most beautiful parrot species with which Australia is blessed.

We wish you pleasant reading, and - as ever - should like to point out that all opinions and statements are those of the author of each article, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial team or Parrots International. We’d also like to encourage any of you who’d like to write an article for PI Press to send your ideas to me at: [email protected]. I’ll be so pleased to hear from you.

Gilly Lloyd