Spix Macaw - in tribute to Presley

The Spix Macaw is the most endangered parrot in the world (the Kakapo of New Zealand being the second most endangered). He is, in fact, extinct in the wild, although a decent captive population survives. He is sometimes known as the Little Blue Macaw, for obvious reasons.

It is said that the movie "Rio" was inspired by a Spix Macaw named Presley, who died about a week or so ago. Presley was one of the last wild-caught Spix Macaw and found living in Colorado. During the 1970s, large numbers of these bright parrots were captured from the wild - usually as nestlings - and smuggled into the pet trade. Poor Presley was traded from hand to hand, before eventually he wound up in America, in a small cage and unable to fly. This is the sad fate of many pet parrots, whose owners don't fully understand the amount of care and attention they require. Rio, the fictional character, fared a lot better in his domestic life. Unlike Rio, Presley did not succesfully breed, a bit of a blow considering his fresh genes would have been a welcome addition to the 100 or so captive birds, who are all descended from seven birds.

Spix Macaw were found in the caatinga dry forests of interior northeastern Brazil. The last wild bird was seen in 2000. Apart from being poached for the pet trade, their habitat has suffered greatly from deforestation and is slow to regenerate.

One of the largest captive-breeding programs is taking place in Qatar.