Government's Protection to the Species

One of the ways in which the government is protecting the wax palms, and therefore the parrots, is by promoting the use of branches or “bouquets” (ramos) of other palm trees or trees, or just using fake ones. This "caimpaign" is made in Easter time, because people use the palms' branches as if they were the "ramos" of the "Domingo de Ramos" (a religious celebration in Easter week, specifically on Sunday). There is also a natural reserve for these species, created by Corantioquia, located in Antioquia and composed by 60 hectares.

Sources of information

'Via Dolorosa' for Palm and Parrot. Taken from:http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=1281

Yellow-eared Parrot. (October 4th, 2010). Taken from: http://www.proaves.org/rubrique.php?id_rubrique=203

MAE impulsa el uso de Ramos Alternativos.(march 18th, 2013) Taken From:http://www.ambiente.gob.ec/mae-impulsa-el-uso-de-ramos-alternativo/

Loro orejiamarillo bird reserve. Taken from:http://www.birdingcolombia.com/birding-site/32/Loro-Orejiamarillo-Bird-Reserve.html

What is the government doing

There is a bird reserve owned by Fundacion ProAves is located above the pleasant colonial town of Jardin, which offers excellent accommodation to the birds, in this place the palm and the parrot is being protected, and the workers help the specie to reproduce and grow on a safe and wild area, in order to recover the large population that has been lost.

What do you think?

What is more important, a religious tradition or the protection of and endangered specie?

Habitat. Why is it endangered?

The  Ognorhynchus icterotis lives in the wax palms of northern and southern colombian mountainous areas, and people is cutting down this palms for many different uses such as the construction of barns and corrals, also used in many rural constructions. But still, the major impact for the extinction on this wax palm and so the extinction of the habitat and survival of the yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis)  is the use of the palm leaves during ceremonies in Easter week. This palm is mostly grown in Antioquia, people who live near the cultivations are really religious and in Easter week, people devastate with the leaves of the wax palm affecting the life of the yellowed-ear parrot. This palm is endemic so if humans continue damaging with ir someday (not too far) the palm would get extinct and the  Ognorhynchus icterotis would have not a habitat where to live and is going to extinct as well.

Importance

Importance: The Ognorhynchus icterotis, is very important for the reproduction chain of the wax palm, Ceroxylon quindiuense, because the bird disperses the palm’s seeds. This is very important taking into account that the palm Ceroxylon quindiuense is also endangered, it is only found on Colombia’s central and southern mountainous areas, mostly on the department of Antioquia.

Description

The Ognorhynchus icterotis, mostly known as the Yellow-eared Parrot, Its taxonomic classification is:  kingdom:Animalia >> Phylum; Chordata >> Class; Aves >> Order: Psittaciformes >> Family: Psittacidae >> Genre: Ognorhynchus >> specie:Ognorhynchus icterotisIts green in the dorsal area, yellow on the ears, front and cheeks. Its head is big, according to its proportions,and has a prominent and black peak.  it has a red or red-like tail and the rest of the body, from the neck to the tail are yellow-like green. The yellow-eared parrot, measures approximately 42 cm long and is an Andean species. It gets its name because of the yellow stripe that goes all along the front and both sides of its head. Its dorsal feathers are dark green, its belly light green, while the tail feathers are coffee-colored.