Spix's macaw  (Cyanopsitta spixii)

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.