The Spix MacawBy

Alyssa Shoultes

What is it?! Why the Macaw?The Spix Macaw is a critically endangered- and possibly extinct in the wild- species of macaw endemic to Brazil. The bird is pretty resistant to disease and eat seeds and fruit in its native areas.

I chose the Spix Macaw for the bird’s status on the ICUN Red List. Seeing “Critically Endangered” on the Spix surprised me and I wanted to see how these birds became that close to extinction.

Discovery

The Spix Macaw was discovered around 1817 by naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix. Originally, he thought he had caught a similar species, the Hyacinth Macaw. Later, it was discovered that it wasn’t a Hyacinth Spix discovered- it was a different species. The bird was named in his honour.

DeclineUntil 1988, the species declined in numbers rapidly. The illegal capture of the Spix Macaw for the pet trade and the removal of the Caraibeira tree- which the Spix depends on for nesting- fueled the fires.

Intervention• In 1988, a few concerned ornithologists

and conservationists noticed the decline of the bird species and wanted to bring back the wild populations in Brazil. However, the first year was only dedicated to determining the legality of the idea.

• A year later- after the legal issues- the Little Blue Macaw Project started to save the species.

• Later in the same year, excitement came about as a wild specimen- a female- was discovered in the area. They rehabilitated a male bird and released him into the wild.

• However, tragedy struck when- 2 years later- a dead Spix was discovered by a local farm. It was discovered to be the female. The owner hesitated to tell about the bird since he thought that he would get in trouble for the bird’s death.

• In 2000, after watching for several years, the male bird suddenly disappeared. It’s unknown what happened to him. It was also the time when the IUCN said the bird was Extinct in the Wild. This claim hasn’t been verified since there are still areas n Brazil left unsearched.

• In the same year of 2000, there was plans to release several habilitated birds back in the wild. They went through with the plan but it’s unknown how it’s working out.