Tony Silva is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ornithologist

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

 and aviculturist that has authored several books on parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s, hundreds of articles and was curator of birds at Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

's Loro Parque

Loro Parque

Loro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...

, the largest parrot park in the world. He has been heavily involved in the efforts to save the Spix's Macaw

Spix's Macaw

Spix's Macaw is the only member of the parrot genus Cyanopsitta. They are critically endangered, possibly extinct in the wild The species is conserved through several breeding programs. It was found in Brazil, in parts of the Brazilian state of Bahia...

.

Smuggling

In 1996, he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate wildlife and customs laws, and tax evasion

Tax evasion

Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...

. Silva initially plead guilty but then immediately attempted to withdraw his plea of guilt and take the case to trial. The court denied the motion to withdraw the guilty plea due to an abuse of discretion. Silva was subsequently sentenced to 82 months in prison and fined $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

100,000. The smuggling involved several threatened species

Threatened species

Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...

 of South American parrots, including Hyacinth Macaw

Hyacinth Macaw

The Hyacinth Macaw , or Hyacinthine Macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length of about 100 cm it is longer than any other species of parrot...

s and Vinaceous Amazon

Vinaceous Amazon

The Vinaceous-breasted Amazon, Amazona vinacea, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay....

s.

Selected publications

This is an incomplete list of works by Tony Silva.

Books:

• Silva, T., & B. Kotlar (1981). Breeding Lovebirds. TFH Publications. ISBN 0876668317
• Silva, T., & B. Kotlar (1989). Conures. TFH Publications. ISBN 0866227393
• Silva, T. (1989). A Monograph of Endangered Parrots. Silvio Mattachione. ISBN 0969264046
• Silva, T. (1991). Psittaculture: The Breeding, Rearing and Management of Parrots. Silvio Mattacchione. ISBN 0950416525
• Silva, T. (1993). A Monograph Of Macaws and Conures. Silvio Mattacchione. ISBN 1895270014