Blue Macaw: Extinct in the Wild

The environmental organization BirdLife International released a study revealing that eight bird species are extinct or highly likely to be extinct in the wild. Four of these birds are Brazilian: the blue macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), the northeastern leafcleaner (Philydor novaesi), the northeastern treecreeper (Cichlocolaptes mazar-barnetti), and the Pernambuco owl (Glaucidium mooreorum).The blue macaw gained international fame with the film Rio, directed by Brazilian Carlos Saldanha. In it, the blue macaw Blu lived happily in the United States until discovering freedom and getting to know Rio de Janeiro. The story romanticizes the bird but also shows how rare it is. With the declaration of extinction, specimens of the blue macaw can only be found with breeders. BirdLife estimates that there are 60 to 80 of them bred in captivity. For the study, 51 species identified as at risk of extinction were analyzed based on the following factors: intensity of threats and reliability of records. Of the eight species analyzed, five live on the South American continent. According to experts, the main cause of extinctions is associated with high rates of deforestation.The study indicates that four species should be reclassified as “critically endangered”: Lorikeet Charmosyna diadema from New Caledonia; Abibe Vanellus macropterus; Glaucidium mooreorum; and the Glaucous Macaw Anodorhynchus glaucus, a Brazilian bird. BirdLife’s chief scientist and lead author of the study, Stuart Butchart, stated that there is a trend of increasing extinctions on the continents, driven mainly by “habitat loss, agricultural degradation, and unsustainable extraction.”The blue macaw is a species approximately 57 centimeters long with plumage in shades of blue, found in Bahia, mainly in the municipalities of Juazeiro and Curacá. There are also unconfirmed reports of its existence in Pernambuco and Piauí. There is data indicating that the last species living in the wild were identified until 2001. However, experts inform that it is a type of bird with “danger of total extinction.”Source: Agência Brasil