The Forestry Division will embark on a study to determine the impact of Hurricane Maria on the national bird of Dominica, the imperial or sisserou parrot.
Acting research, monitoring and environmental education officer in the Forestry Division Stephen Durand says less than 500 imperial parrots existed in the wild before Maria, and the Division is concerned that the numbers could be less and that the existence of the national bird could be under threat.
Durand says that the study will determine the impact which the storm had on the red neck, or jacko parrot.
He says the Forestry Division has noticed an increase in the sightings of parrots along the coastlines due to the devastation caused to the forests by the Hurricane.
