Superb parrot with blue plumage, the Spix’s Macaw is, today, almost non-existent in the wild. However, a program to reintroduce birds born in captivity has recently been launched. Reputed to be fearful, this bird also has great abilities to imitate sounds.
Geographical area
The Spix’s Macaw is native to Brazil. It lived in the Amazon rainforest before its extinction.
Breed History
The Spix’s Macaw is said to have been discovered by a Dutch settler in the 17th century, but it was not studied until the beginning of the following century by the German naturalist Johann Baptist Ritter Von Spix. The name was subsequently given to this species in his honor. As for its description, it is attributed to the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler, who would have made it in 1832.
At that time, the numbers of Spix’s Macaw were already quite low, estimated at less than 200 individuals.
Poaching and the destruction of its natural habitat have made this animal even rarer. Despite a law protecting the species that came into force in Brazil in 1967, individuals continued to be captured. No Spix’s Macaw could be observed in the wild until 1985, when 5 birds were seen (5 including 2 pairs), but they also ended up being victims of poaching.
5 years later, Brazil set up the Standing Committee for the Restoration of the Spix’s Macaw. Efforts were made to promote breeding in captivity, but problems with inbreeding soon emerged.
Today, the species is considered extinct in the wild. A male was however seen in 2016. Captive birds, which number in the dozens, live in the Canary Islands, Qatar and Germany, in addition to Brazil.
On March 3, 2020, 52 Spix’s Macaws arrived in Brazil from Germany. They lived at the Breeding and Breeding Center of the Association for the Conservation of Endangered Parrots (ACTP) in Berlin. Their reintroduction into their natural environment is planned for 2021 in 2 vast reserves specially created by the Brazilian authorities.
Physical peculiarities
The Spix’s Macaw has an entirely blue plumage, with greenish nuances on the abdomen. The head is light gray with bluish highlights. The beak is dark grey, even black.
The young have a striped beak in the centre. Stripes that disappear at the age of one or two years. They also have light gray legs. The size of the tail increases as the bird grows.
When it comes to sexing, the male is usually a bit larger than the female.
Behavior and character
The few Spix’s Macaws observed in their natural environment evolved alone, in pairs or in very small groups. They are rather fearful; the slightest attempt to approach scares them away.
Paul Roth, one of the few people to have recently seen a Spix’s Macaw in the wild, saw a male accompanied by a female of a different species, Illiger’s Macaw in this case. He used to escort her every night to her perch, before heading back to hers.
The Spix’s Macaw is also said to have the ability to imitate a variety of sounds.
Feed
In the wild, the Spix’s Macaw consumes seeds and peanuts, favoring the nuts of Paranà pine (tree in danger of extinction) and Cnidoscolus quercifolius.
Reproduction
In the Spix’s Macaw, the breeding period corresponds to the summer season. The nest is usually established in the hollow of a tree trunk.
In captivity, a female can lay up to 5 eggs.
Health
In captivity, the Spix’s Macaw suffers from disorders associated with inbreeding, such as infertility and in utero death.
Cases of delayed sexual maturity have also been noted.
Way of life
The Spix’s Macaw being protected, there are officially none in captivity in France.
