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Spix’s Macaw. Period 4 Group 7. Justification. Although this species exists in several captive populations, the last known individual in the wild disappeared at the end of 2000, and no others may remain, primarily as a result of trapping for trade plus habitat loss.
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Spix’s Macaw Period 4 Group 7
Justification • Although this species exists in several captive populations, the last known individual in the wild disappeared at the end of 2000, and no others may remain, primarily as a result of trapping for trade plus habitat loss. • However, it cannot yet be presumed to be Extinct in the Wild until all areas of potential habitat have been thoroughly surveyed. • Any remaining population is likely to be tiny, and for these reasons it is treated as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild).
Identification • 55-57 cm. Delicate, blue-grey macaw with long tail and wings. • Pale ashy-blue head, distinctively square shaped. • Pale blue underparts. • More vividly blue in upperparts, wings and long tail. • Voice Strong, clear cra-á cra-á cra-á.
Population justification • Any remaining population is assumed to be tiny (numbering fewer than 50 individuals and mature individuals), based on the disappearance of the last known individual.
Ecology • It apparently requires gallery woodland dominated by caraiba Tabebuia caraiba trees for nesting, but feeds mainly on two regionally characteristic Euphorbiaceae plant species. • Breeding occurs during the austral summer. • Two or three eggs are laid in the wild (up to five in captivity). • The wild bird and the P. maracana apparently produced infertile eggs, although one experienced very early embryo death, subsequent DNA analysis revealing a hybrid.
Threats • The decline of Spix's Macaw has generally been attributed to two principal factors. • First, long-term destruction of the specific gallery woodland habitat on which the species apparently depended, the result of the colonisation and exploitation of the region along the Rio São Francisco corridor during more than three centuries. • Secondly, trapping for the illegal live bird trade in recent decades pushed the species towards extinction. In addition, the colonisation of the distributional range by introduced aggressive African bees, and the building of the Sobradinho hydroelectric dam above Juazeiro may have contributed, perhaps significantly, to the species's decline in the 1970s and 1980s. • Direct hunting is considered a factor of minor importance in the overall decline, even though several reports of shooting are on record.
