Spix's macaw  (Cyanopsitta spixii)

Spix's macaw is the world's rarest bird, believed to have become extinct in the wild as of 2000 (5). This elegant parrot has delicate blue-grey plumage, fading from the bright blue tail and wings to an ashy-blue crown (4). There is an area of featherless, dark grey skin around the eyes. Juveniles are typically dark blue in colour but the skin around the eye is pale (2).

Endemic to a small area in the northeastern corner of Brazil, a highly publicised and protected solitary male remained in the wild until October 2000 when he disappeared, never to be seen again. There is currently a captive population of around 60 birds, mostly in private collections, around the globe (5).

Inhabits caraiba (Tabebuia caraiba) gallery woodland along seasonal creeks (3) in the dry scrub zone known as ‘caatinga' (5).

Information about the natural ecology and behaviour of the Spix's macaw is limited as research only began when there were merely 3 birds left in the wild (5). This parrot is relatively long-lived and feeds mainly on Euphoribacae plant species (4).

It is thought that the destruction of caraiba forest and other human activities over the last 500 years is largely responsible for the decline of the Spix's macaw (5). More recently, trapping for the illegal bird trade has driven this parrot to extinction in the wild (5).

Until 2001, the Spix's macaw recovery programme was coordinated and implemented through the Permanent Committee for the Recovery of the Spix's Macaw (CPRAA); composed of the Brazilian government, scientific advisors and Spix's macaw holders (5). While the solitary male remained in the wild he was the subject of a number of study programmes and valuable information on the natural ecology and behaviour of this species was obtained (5). The wild male had mated with an illiger's macaw (Ara maracana) and the pair successfully fostered illiger's macaw nestlings, which were introduced to them (5). This is an encouraging finding as wild illiger's macaws could, in theory, be used to foster captive-bred Spix's macaws in the same way (5). The future of the species depends on the success of the captive-bred population and its possible reintroduction into the wild. There have been recent problems however, leading the Brazilian government to suspend CPRAA in 2001, due to internal conflicts (6). While the loss of Spix's macaw in the wild was devastating blow to the conservation programme, if the different parties can cooperate, there is hope that a wild population can be successfully introduced.

An excellent selection of articles on the Spix's macaw is available at ‘Blue macaws':
http://www.bluemacaws.org/spixart.htm

BirdLife International (2000) Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge.

Many thanks to Yves de Soye (11/7/02), Director, Loro Parque Fundacion for revising the text.
http://www.loroparque-fundacion.org/main_eng.htm