Little blue macaw
The Spix's macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), also known as the Little blue macaw - no longer lives in the wild and is by a long way the world’s rarest macaw. It had a very restricted natural habitat due to its dependence on the tree for nesting, feeding, and roosting. Due to deforestation in its limited range and specialized habitat, the bird was rare in the wild throughout the twentieth century. The Spix’s macaw has always been very rare in captivity, partly due to the remoteness of its natural range. Its last known stronghold in the wild was in northeastern Bahia, Brazil and sightings were very rare. After a 2000 sighting of a male bird, the next and last sighting was in 2016. The Spix’s macaw is now maintained through a captive breeding program at several conservation organizations under the aegis of the Brazilian government.
The Spix's macaw is a small, elegant parrot with delicate blue-gray plumage, bright blue wings and tail, and an ash-blue crown. Around the eyes, there is an area of dark grey featherless skin. Male and female adults look similar, the female being slightly smaller. Juvenile Spix’s macaws typically are dark blue, with pale skin around their eyes.
Spix's macaws are native to Brazil in the interior and northeast, where populations occurred in northeast Bahia (Juazeiro) and southern Piaui (Parnaguá). Today they exist only in captivity in different parts of the world, mainly in private collections. Their natural habitat was riparian Caraibeira (Tabebuia aurea) woodland galleries in the drainage basin of the Rio São Francisco within the Caatinga dry forest climate of interior northeastern Brazil.
Spix's macaws usually traveled in small family groups or pairs, hunting for food along the seasonal rivers, and nesting and roosting together in treetops. The Spix’s macaw in the wild was sedentary, and during the day it was active, moving according to food resources and availability of nesting. It would also move in response to rainfall. These birds are shy, and they would fly off when an intruder approached. They are masters of mimicry and can mimic human voices and so they are "talking" birds. Macaws are noisy, lively birds that make their "kra-ark" cry almost every few feet they fly.
Spix's macaws were herbivores (granivores, frugivores) in the wild, eating seeds, as well as fruit. In captivity, they are usually fed a range of seeds, fruit, and nuts, as well as important mineral and vitamin supplements through the consumption of small quantities of cactus meat and tree bark.
Spix’s macaws are monogamous, mating for life. It is thought that when this species was more abundant, the males competed for females as well as nesting spots. The breeding season in the wild was between November and March. Breeding begins in August for these birds in captivity. 2-3 white eggs are laid, two days apart, though in captivity, often 4 to 7 eggs are laid. Incubation is for about 25 to 28 days, and just by the female. The male regularly feeds her during this period. When the chicks hatch they are almost naked, with just a little down covering them. They are fed by both parents, and they fledge at about two months old. They stay with their parents for a further three months before leaving the nest. Sexual maturity is reached in 7 years.
The Spix’s macaw is extinct in the wild, due to habitat loss, persecution, and the illegal pet trade. It lived in a very restricted range, and the destruction of the Caraiba woodlands meant almost total loss of the bird’s nesting habitat and was instrumental in its extinction in the wild. They have also been relentlessly trapped in the illegal cage-bird trade.
Today Spix’s macaws exist only in captivity, and, according to the Wikipedia resource, the number held in captivity has reached 110 birds.
