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Brought to you from the forthcoming book by renowned historian
Dr. Lennox Honychurch.
Parrots (E)
Family Psittacidae. There are two species of parrot inhabiting Dominica: The Red Neck parrot or in Creole Jaco or Jacquot (Amazona arausiaca) and the Sisserou or Imperial Parrot (Amazona imperialis), the national bird which appears on the flag and coat of arms. According to the 18th century historian of Dominica, Thomas Atwood, there once existed a macaw that is now extinct but which has been labelled by ornithologists as Ara atwoodi. It may be however, that Atwood was describing the Sisserou and referred to it as a macaw in error. The two Amazona parrots arrived on Dominica thousands of years ago from South America. Separate from the other Amazona species on the mainland they remained in their primitive form while changes took place to those on the continent. Hence the island species became unique to Dominica. It is the only island in the Lesser Antilles where more than one species of parrot survives. The Sisserou and Jaco numbers and zones of habitation decreased alarmingly into the 1980s due to forest clearance, hunting and damage caused by Hurricane David in 1979. Legislation, action and public education by the Wildlife and Forestry Service halted the decline. The Sisserou is still limited to areas around Morne Diablotin while the Jaco is repopulating central forest zones to the south.
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