The St Vincent parrot (Amazona guildingii) lives nowhere else on earth. It is a stocky, golden-brown bird with a violet head and a tail that flashes blue and yellow in flight. It is also the national bird of St Vincent & the Grenadines, and it almost did not make it out of the 1980s.
A bird on the brink
Habitat loss from agriculture and Hurricane Allen in 1980, combined with a thriving illegal pet trade, pushed the wild population down to an estimated 370 birds by 1982. A captive breeding programme was started at the Botanic Gardens in Kingstown — the oldest in the western hemisphere — and the species was given full legal protection.
Today
Recent surveys put the wild population at around **900 birds**, all of them in the rainforest interior of St Vincent, particularly around the Vermont Nature Trails and the upper Buccament Valley.
That is a remarkable recovery, but the parrot still faces:
- **Volcanic risk** — the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière dropped ash across much of the parrot's range.
- **Climate change** — stronger storms reshape the canopy faster than the forest can recover.
- **Lingering poaching pressure** for the international pet trade.
Visiting
If you'd like to see the parrot in the wild, speak to Tourism SVG — they can connect you with experienced local guides who know the Vermont Nature Trails and can help you spot one.