jacquot st lucia parrot

The St Lucia Parrot is the national bird of St Lucia

As its name suggests, the St. Lucia Parrot, or Jacquot, is found only on the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies where it lives in the central mountain rainforest.

In the darkness of the forest, their feathers appear dull and the parrots blend into their leafy world. But when the sunlight shines on their feathers, they display a brilliant pallet of red, green and blue.

In the early morning and evening the parrots search the treetops for food, which includes a wide variety of fruits and seeds. The birds have a range of calls, from soft and liquid to harsh and strident.

Breeding and Lifecycle

Early in the year birds aged four years or more pair up with a mate they keep for life (the 'life' part is a guess, jg). They search for a nest hole high up in an old tree and between March and June have their young.

Nothing is added to the nest and the female lays one or two (up to three, jg) white eggs on the rotten wood base and incubates them for around 28 days. The chicks are bald, blind and totally dependent on their parents for protection, warmth and food. The parents regurgitate partially digested food for their young until, after about 80 days, they join the adults in the forest.

Status and Conservation

Status: Endangered
By 1975 as few as 100 parrots survived in the wild. Combined pressures from deforestation and shooting were taking their toll. The St. Lucia Forestry and Lands Department initiated and island-wide education programme while protecting substantial areas of rainforest and banning all hunting until further notice.

The Jacquot became the National Bird in 1979, the year of St. Lucia's independence, and the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust was invited to collect fledglings from the nest to begin the world's only breeding program at Forestry Headquarters.

Now, JWPT, WPTI, and St Lucia Forestry officers are studying the parrots in their aviaries and in the forest to perfect breeding techniques. The number of St. Lucia parrot in the wild has almost tripled since conservation measures were first introduced.