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The Spix’s Macaw is native to the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, where it thrives in the expansive semi-arid region known as the Caatinga, a biome found nowhere else in the world. Within this diverse landscape, the macaws primarily inhabit microhabitats, such as the riparian woodlands. The woodlands along the São Francisco River are especially crucial for the Spix’s macaw. The Melancia Creek, a tributary feeding into the San Francisco River, winds through this area, marking the former habitat of the Spix’s Macaw. The dominant tree species along the banks of Melancia Creek is the caraibeira ( Tabebuia caraiba ), which plays a vital role in the macaw's survival by providing nesting sites, shelter, and a source of food.
ONGOING REINTRODUCTIONS AND MONITORING EFFORTS Conservation efforts established a captive population that now numbers over 200 individuals. Two protected areas safeguard historical habitat, with a state-of-the-art breeding and release facility established nearby. A recent study published in the MDPI Journal highlights progress with captive-bred macaws successfully raising chicks in the wild. Mentorship from blue-winged macaws helped them adapt. Having spent decades in confined aviary conditions, the Spix’s macaws lacked access to important cultural knowledge typically passed down from generation to generation. Spix’s macaws would normally spend their first year under the watchful care and guidance of their parents and flockmates in the wild, learning essential skills for survival. They
continued until the breeding season when some individuals formed pairs. Predators such as hawks killed some birds, and just over 58% of the initially introduced birds survived. All Spix’s macaws, except one, established home ranges within 5km of the release site.
Future releases will assess whether Spix’s macaws continue returning to the area where they were released. Plans also include improving habitat corridors through restoration to connect the population to additional forest patches. A crucial method to conserve a species is to get the community on board and create a sense of ownership. The local communities monitor nest sites and help create awareness through environmental education programmes to help foster appreciation for the iconic blue parrot. All these efforts, combined with land use policy changes, have created a more hospitable environment in Brazil for Spix’s macaw to make a comeback. This pilot reintroduction demonstrated the viability of re-establishing the critically endangered Spix’s macaw in protected habitat within its historic range using captive-bred birds. Continued releases combined with habitat and population management offer hope that achieving a self-sustaining wild flock is possible, preventing the extinction of this iconic parrot and engaging locals as conservation stewards.
were, therefore, selected as a “mentor species” to help guide the reintroduced Spix’s Macaws. For the initial pilot releases, the team selected 20 captive-bred Spix’s macaws based on their behaviour, health, and flight skills. At the same time, 15 blue- winged macaws, a sympatric (related or existing in the same geographic area), were also included in the releases. Two trial releases took place in 2022 - the first in June during the dry season with 10 Spix’s macaws and seven blue- winged macaws. The second in October in the wet season included 10 Spix’s macaws and eight blue-winged macaws. The birds were fitted with radio tags to monitor
One nest successfully hatched and fledged chicks, representing the first Spix’s macaws born in the wild in over 20 years.
post-release survival, home range establishment, and interactions between species.
One week after release, researchers saw Spix’s macaws in catingueira trees, and 25 days after release, all the Spix’s macaws foraged together in catingueira and pereiro trees. After the first weeks of release, the released birds started roosting in trees near the enclosure or on the roof of the release enclosure together with the blue-winged macaws. This pattern
The great news is that several pairs of Spix’s macaws engaged in breeding behaviour like nest cavity inspection. Three females laid eggs, with one nest successfully hatching and fledging chicks, representing the first Spix’s macaws born in the wild in over 20 years.
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