Trump administration removes endangered species protections for parrots

Parrots, those colorful birds famous for repeating what you say, are facing fewer protections from the Trump administration.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced Tuesday that it is removing the turquoise parrot and scarlet-chested parrot from the endangered species list.

These two parrots are found in Australia. Both species were listed as endangered in the 1970s after their populations declined. At one point, the scarlet-chested parrot “was thought to have gone extinct, as a result of no sightings,” the agency said.

{mosads}But their populations have since recovered. The agency estimates their are more than 10,000 scarlet-chested parrots and 20,000 turquoise parrots living in Australia.

“Species experts now widely characterize populations of the scarlet-chested parrot and the turquoise parrot as stable, with potential increases noted for the turquoise parrot in some areas,” the agency wrote in the Federal Register.

Now that their populations have returned, the FWS will remove them from the endangered species list.

The changes go into effect in 30 days.