Spix’s macaw was thought extinct after the last wild sighting in 2000 and is known to the public only as the star of the “Rio” movie. Native to a small portion of riparian woodland habitat in Brazil, only 130 captive individuals were thought to survive the damage from pet trade and habitat destruction. And then in June 2016, a farmer spotted a Spix’s macaw near Curaçá. He returned the next morning with his wife and daughter and they filmed the bird flying along with the sound of its call. Biologists at the Society for the Conservation of Birds in Brazil (SAVE Brazil) verified that the bird in the short video indeed has the proper call and shape to be a Spix’s.
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The sighting of a wild Spix’s macaw is a boost to species re-introduction plans by allowing biologists to study the bird’s wild behavior and better understand how to handle releases of captive bred birds. Over 100,000 acres of forest habitat for Spix’s now is protected in Brazil and the nation’s biodiversity agency ICMBio is working with local residents to relocate and observe the macaw. No one yet knows if the bird filmed is the same individual seen in 2000, a new wild bird or one who escaped from captivity. Everyone hopes he’s not alone although no one knows if the bird is a he or she. Macaws are not sexually dimorphic.
The Smithsonian article linked in the tweet has the video embedded and more information on the Spix’s.
The Spix’s Macaw was probably never very common in the first place, and has a long, difficult history. The bird was first described in 1819 by Johann Baptist von Spix, a German biologist, according to Roberto Kaz at Audubon. It wasn’t seen again until 1903, and for much of the 20th century ornithologists searched for the species catching glimpses here or there.
In 1986 researchers found three specimens, thought to be the last three Spix's in the wild. Poachers eventually caught those three, and over next two decades expeditions found only a few more birds. The sightings went cold in 2000. [...]
The sighting is a big deal for locals too, who have set up patrols to prevent animal dealers from entering the area. “The Spix's Macaw is kind of a symbol of the city, and the local community is really proud of the existence of the Spix’s Macaw there,” Develey says. “And since [2000] there has been a big expectation for the return of the Spix's Macaw. They are really waiting for that.”
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