Bird named after late Vincentian forestry officer

A St Vincent parrot which hatched recently at a zoo in the United States, has been named after the late Fitzroy Springer, a local forestry officer, considered the ‘father’ of the conservation programme for the species.

The male parrot, named Mustique Springer (or ‘Springer’ for short), {{more}}hatched at the Houston Zoo on May 24, and is the offspring of Baliceaux – a female parrot who also was hatched at the zoo in 1999.

Fitroy Springer passed away on July 14, 2012, in Cuba, where he was seeking medical treatment after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer.

He not only dedicated his life to the conservation of the St Vincent parrot, the Amazona Guildingii, but also to the preservation of other local flora and fauna.

The male parrot’s birth also marks the first time (at the zoo) that a Houston Zoo-hatched bird has reproduced.

In an article published on ABC 13 Eye Witness News, it states that a team of bird keepers at Houston Zoo have been hand-rearing Mustique Springer since his birth and that it will be a few years before he makes his public debut at the zoo.

According to the IUCN Red List, the St Vincent parrot is classified as “vulnerable” and a 2004 census estimates that there are 734 of the species still remaining in the wild, with their population slowly increasing. (JSV)