The numbers of the once-thought extinct, Yellow-eared Parrot have increased to their highest levels since the species was found on the brink of extinction in 1998, when just 81 birds were found in one flock surviving in a remote mountainous area of Colombia.

A recent survey count shows that, thanks to conservation actions by the Colombian conservation group Fundación ProAves, in partnership with American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Conservation International-Colombia and Loro Parque Fundación of Spain, the bird has reached historically high population levels. The bird has just experienced the most successful breeding season on record, with 291 chicks fledged from 131 nests, bringing the global population to 1,076 individuals.

It's good to hear that perhaps one parrot species may not soon join the already nineteen extinct parrot species.

Reading posts such as this one gets me to thinking that advertising endangered parrot breeding success stories might also encourage the parrot pirates to begin looking for the species in the wild. Let's hope not.