Spix’s Macaw

A Parrot Extinct in the Wild for Two Decades, Now Re-Released

In 2000 the last documented wild Spix's Macaw — a single male in the Caatinga dry forest of northeastern Brazil — disappeared, and the species was reclassified by IUCN as Extinct in the Wild [BirdLife International 2019]. Eighteen years later, in 2018, BirdLife International published a formal assessment confirming the wild extinction [Butchart et al. 2018]. In June 2022, after two decades during which the species existed only as a captive population of approximately 60 birds in private collections in the late 1990s and early 2000s — later consolidated under ACTP (Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots) and ICMBio (Brazil's federal biodiversity agency) — the first soft releases of captive-bred Spix's Macaws into the Caatinga were carried out at Curaçá, Bahia [ICMBio 2022]. By early 2024 the in-situ released population had reached approximately 20 birds flying free and the global captive population had grown past 200 [ACTP 2024]. The species remains formally Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List pending establishment of a self-sustaining wild population, but the reintroduction is the first major recovery effort for an Extinct in the Wild parrot in modern times.

Biology and Identification

Cyanopsitta spixii is a medium-sized macaw, 55–57 cm in length, with a body mass of 280–320 g — smaller than its larger Anodorhynchus relatives [Juniper & Parr 1998]. Adult plumage is overall dull pale blue-grey with a darker blue-grey back and wings, a paler grey head, dark grey facial skin, and a black bill. The colour is uniform enough that the species is often described as "blue-grey" rather than the rich blue of larger macaws. Tail length is roughly 35 cm, contributing to the elongated profile typical of the genus [Collar 1997].

The species is unique within its genus Cyanopsitta (monotypic) and morphologically distinct from the larger Anodorhynchus macaws (Hyacinth, Lear's, and Glaucous). Wild Spix's Macaws were obligate specialists on a specific Caatinga habitat — gallery woodland dominated by Tabebuia caraiba (Caraibeira) and Geoffroea spinosa (Imburana) along intermittent watercourses — and bred almost exclusively in cavities of mature Caraibeira trees [Roth 1986; Juniper 2002].

Reproduction in the limited captive observations is slow: pairs lay 2–3 eggs, incubation is ~28 days, fledglings remain dependent for several months post-fledge, and sexual maturity is typically reached at 3–5 years [ACTP 2024]. As with most large parrots, life expectancy is multi-decadal under good captive conditions.

Habitat and Range

The historical wild range of Spix's Macaw appears to have been narrowly confined to the Caatinga — a semi-arid scrub and dry forest biome of northeastern Brazil — within the lower São Francisco River basin in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco [Juniper 2002]. The species was probably never common in modern times; even the earliest 20th-century records described it as rare. The last wild stronghold was a small area near Curaçá in northern Bahia, where the final wild bird was observed regularly from 1990 to 2000 [Juniper & Yamashita 1990; Juniper 2002].

Habitat requirements include mature gallery forest with old-growth Caraibeira trees of sufficient diameter to provide nesting cavities, intact riparian corridors, and proximity to seasonal water [Juniper 2002]. The Caatinga has been heavily degraded by overgrazing (especially by goats), conversion to agriculture, and fuelwood harvest, with the most-intact gallery forest now restricted to small patches.

The 2022 reintroduction site at Curaçá, Bahia is within historical wild range and adjacent to the Refúgio de Vida Silvestre Arara-Azul-de-Lear (a federal wildlife refuge originally established for the related Lear's Macaw, Anodorhynchus leari) [ICMBio 2022].

Conservation Status

The Spix's Macaw is currently listed as Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List [BirdLife International 2019; Butchart et al. 2018]. Brazilian federal regulation lists the species as Critically Endangered under the national red list maintained by ICMBio. The species is on CITES Appendix I, prohibiting international commercial trade — historically the illegal pet trade was a primary driver of decline and remains a residual risk for the reintroduced population.

The captive population in 2024 totals approximately 200+ birds across the ACTP breeding facility in Germany and the ACTP-operated breeding centre at Curaçá in Brazil, with smaller numbers at partner zoos. The released wild population at Curaçá is small (~20) and demographically dependent on continuing releases [ACTP 2024].

Threats

Historical drivers were direct capture for the illegal pet trade compounding habitat loss and fragmentation in the Caatinga gallery forest. The combination of intrinsic rarity, restricted range, and demand from international parrot collectors brought the wild population to functional extinction in the late 20th century [Juniper 2002].

Habitat degradation continues across the Caatinga. The reintroduction site has been the focus of restoration work — planting of Caraibeira and other native trees, fencing to exclude goats from regeneration areas, and watershed restoration — but the wider Caatinga continues to be degraded by livestock and agricultural pressure [Tabarelli et al. 2018; ACTP 2024].

Captive-source genetic constraints. The current captive population is derived from a very small number of historical founders — fewer than 15 individuals known to have entered the modern breeding programme [Presti et al. 2015]. Pedigree management is essential to limit inbreeding depression in the released population.

Post-release mortality in reintroduction is the principal short-term risk: predation by raptors (especially the related Caracara plancus), collisions with infrastructure, dispersal away from supported foraging sites, and disease are all documented or anticipated. Soft-release protocols including aviary acclimation, supplemental feeding at release sites, and post-release radio-telemetry monitoring are designed to mitigate these risks [ACTP 2024].

Climate change is expected to increase drought severity in the Caatinga, with consequences for nest-tree regeneration and water availability [Tabarelli et al. 2018].

What Is Being Done

The Spix's Macaw Recovery Programme is coordinated under a formal agreement between the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) — a Berlin-based conservation NGO — and the Brazilian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) [ICMBio 2022]. The programme is unusual in conservation history because the species' captive consolidation depended substantially on private-collector negotiations over the 1990s and 2000s — a process documented in detail by Juniper (2002) — before formal multi-party recovery became possible.

Programme elements include:

• Captive breeding at ACTP's German facility and at a new in-country breeding facility at Curaçá, Bahia
• Habitat restoration at the Curaçá reintroduction site, including Caraibeira tree planting, livestock exclusion fencing, and community engagement with surrounding agricultural communities [ACTP 2024]
• Soft-release reintroduction beginning June 2022, with phased release of cohorts of 4–8 birds into pre-release aviaries followed by exit into the wild over weeks to months [ICMBio 2022]
• Post-release monitoring via radio-telemetry on every released bird
• Anti-trafficking and law-enforcement support at the federal and state level, including IBAMA (Brazilian environment-protection agency) operations against the illegal parrot trade
• Community education and incentive programmes with Curaçá-area landowners and indigenous communities

How Readers Can Help

• Do not buy macaws. The international pet trade in macaws of any species creates demand that incentivises both legal commercial breeding and the parallel illegal market. CITES Appendix I prohibits commercial international trade in Spix's, Lear's, and Hyacinth Macaws, among others, but enforcement is imperfect and "captive-bred" claims are sometimes used to launder wild-caught birds.
• Support tropical parrot conservation. The World Parrot Trust, Loro Parque Fundación, and ACTP all fund critical recovery work across multiple Critically Endangered parrot species worldwide.
• Support Brazilian biodiversity NGOs. SOS Mata Atlântica, Conservation International–Brazil, and SAVE Brasil (the BirdLife partner in Brazil) all work on protected-area expansion and biome-scale conservation in the Caatinga and other Brazilian biomes.
• Engage on global wildlife-trade policy. International CITES decisions are public-comment processes. Supporting strong CITES Appendix I listings — and supporting law-enforcement agencies that prosecute violations — protects not only Spix's Macaws but a long tail of trafficked species.
• Read the source. Tony Juniper's 2002 book Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird is the primary published account of the species' decline and the early captive consolidation; it remains the definitive long-form record.

Last verified: 2026-05-23 Conservation status as of writing: Extinct in the Wild (IUCN Red List 2019 assessment); reintroduction in progress.

References

• Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) (2024). Spix's Macaw Reintroduction Programme — Programme Updates. https://www.act-parrots.org/
• BirdLife International (2019). Cyanopsitta spixii. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. e.T22685533A153022606. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685533/153022606
• Butchart, S. H. M., Lowe, S., Martin, R. W., Symes, A., Westrip, J. R. S., & Wheatley, H. (2018). Which bird species have gone extinct? A novel quantitative classification approach. Biological Conservation 227: 9–18.
• Collar, N. J. (1997). Family Psittacidae (Parrots). In Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 4, ed. J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, & J. Sargatal. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
• ICMBio (2022). Soltura de Ararinhas-azuis na Caatinga — Press Release. Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade. https://www.gov.br/icmbio/
• Juniper, T. (2002). Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird. Atria Books.
• Juniper, T., & Parr, M. (1998). Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World. Yale University Press.
• Juniper, T., & Yamashita, C. (1990). The conservation of Spix's Macaw. Oryx 24(4): 224–228.
• Presti, F. T., Guedes, N. M. R., Antas, P. T. Z., & Miyaki, C. Y. (2015). Population genetic structure in hyacinth macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) and identification of unrelated breeding individuals for captive management. Diversity and Distributions 21(11): 1290–1300.
• Roth, P. (1986). Beobachtungen am letzten bekannten Bestand des Spix-Ara Cyanopsitta spixii. Papageien 1: 16–20.
• Tabarelli, M., Leal, I. R., Scarano, F. R., & da Silva, J. M. C. (2018). Caatinga: legado, trajetória e desafios rumo à sustentabilidade. Ciência e Cultura 70(4): 25–29.