Many birders keep a Lifelist of all the birds they have seen in their lifetime and set challenges to see certain birds or reach a specified numerical target.  I was never a Lifelist keeper until I joined eBird and I was primarily targeting parrot species so I didn’t keep track of other birds I had seen until fairly recently.  There are around 10,000 species of birds in the world and I have logged 1322 on eBird.  Of those 1322, 177 are parrots.  There are around 390 species and subspecies of parrots depending on whose classifications you are looking at so I am closing in on half the parrot species of the world though I haven’t really reconciled my Lifelist which goes back to 2007 with the latest taxonomy.

Anyway, there are at least 30 species which I may not be able to see due to several reasons such as being endemic in a dangerous country or remote island or simply being too expensive for me to get to as my miles balance runs down.  Here’s the list.

1.  Stephen’s Lorikeet – remote on Pitcairn Island
2.   Sula Hanging Parrot – difficult to reach
3.   Meek’s Pygmt Parrot – difficult to reach
4.   Blue-wnged Racket-tail – difficult to reach
5.   Nicobar Parakeet – difficult to reach
6.  Antipodean Green Parrot – difficult to reach, remote NZ island
7.  Night Parrot – tiny population in QLD in restricted access area (not allowed to go there)
8.  Niam-Niam Parrot – dangerous location in Congo
9.  Socorro Parakeet – remote island off Mexico
10.  Thick-billed Parrot – lives in area frequented by drug cartels in Mexico
11.  Red-eared Parakeet – endemic to Venezuela which is too dangerous to travel in
12.  Emma’s Parakeet – another Venezuela endemic
13.  Rose-crowned Parakeet – another Venezuela endemic
14. Pacific Parakeet – found in Nicaragua, not sure I can get there due miles running out
15. Red-throated Parakeet – another Nicaraguan
16. Azuero Parakeet – remote area of Panama
17. Cuban Parakeet – theoretically possible in Cuba but lack of miles
18. Hispaniolan Parakeet – theoretically possible in Haiti or Dominican Republic but lack of miles
19.  Hispaniolan Amazon – theoretically possible in Haiti or Dominican Republic but lack of miles
20.  Deville’s Parakeet – found in Tefe, Brazil, expensive to reach
21. Vulturine Parrot – possible in Brazil but found in remote areas
22. Bald Parrot – found near Rio Azul, Brazil, expensive to reach
23. Red-fronted Parrot – dipped in Ecuador, no plans to return
24. Spectacled Parrotlet – dipped in Ecuador & Colombia, no plans to return
25. Spot-winged Parrotlet – dipped in Ecuador & Colombia, no plans to return
26. Blue-fronted Parrotlet – dipped in Ecuador & Colombia, no plans to return
27. Red-fronted Parrotlet – dipped in Panama, no plans to return
28. Saffron-headed Parrot – dipped in Colombia, also found in Venezuela but can’t get there
29. Sinu Parakeet – remote Colombian endemic, possibly extinct as no sightings in years
30. Perija Parakeet – remote Colombian endemic, possibly extinct as no sightings in years

So I have had a chance at some of these parrots, mostly the parrotlets but was unable to find them.  Some of them would be possible if the country was safer to visit, some would be possible if I had more money and/or airline miles!

I do have a lot of other possible parrots in trips I have planned over the next few years as I burn the remainder of my miles and do some cheaper trips from Australia to Asian countries.  I would like to get at least 300 parrot species and over 2000 bird species so that’s 20% of the total in the world!