There are only around 900 Seychelles black parrots left in the world. All of them live in or near the Vallée de Mai palm forest. The fact that they only nest in one place makes them very special - and also means it is very important to look after that forest.
Unlike many parrots, the Seychelles black parrot does not have bright red, yellow or blue feathers. It is the colour of cocoa powder. People who see one for the first time sometimes think it is just a big drab pigeon - until it whistles. The parrot's call is a clear, sweet sound that travels through the trees.
Black parrots eat fruit, especially the orange fruit of the bilimbi tree. They use their strong curved beaks to peel and crack the fruits. Then they fly off and accidentally drop the seeds, which sprout up into new trees. So the parrots are tree-planters as well as fruit-eaters.
Children in Seychelles are proud of their national bird. Schools take part in counting projects - 'parrot counts' - where children join scientists and rangers in seeing how the population is doing each year. It is one way of helping look after a creature that lives nowhere else.