Unfortunately, today the peculiarities of the life of blue macaws are already from the category of history. There is not much information about the lifestyle of these birds since serious observations began only in the 70s of the last century, and the groups that were observed were few. Therefore, the data cannot be complete. It is known that the homeland of the macaw is the territory of Brazil, located between the rivers São Francisco and Parnaiba in the northeast of the country (Capatides, 2018). The birds preferred plain vegetation: single tall trees, thorny shrubs, groves of palm trees, forest belts, river banks.
This species is no longer found in the wild; the last male living in the wild disappeared in 2000. Prior to that, in the mid-1990s, attempts were made to introduce a female from a private collection, but this bird died. Reasons for extinction might capture African bees, which occupied all the hollows suitable for nesting in this area, as well as cutting down of the favorite trees of Tabebuia caraiba (Capatides, 2018). These birds were characterized by the use of the same flight route for years, which facilitated the work of poachers. There is a hope that a small population of these birds remained undetected by people in the wild; otherwise, the only hope for this species is birds kept in private collections.
Bird watchers are gradually reviving the population, but this is happening extremely slowly, and all because most blue macaws are close relatives. A program aimed at breeding macaws in captivity with the subsequent introduction of chicks into the wild has been developed and is operating. These birds accounted for 90% of the genetic diversity of the species. The rest of the parrots were closely related, which made it difficult for them to reproduce. On nine unrelated blue macaws, ornithologists had high hopes for the revival of the species. Today, nearly 80 blue macaws participate in a controlled breeding program that aims to save the population from extinction and then restore its habitat in the wild (Capatides, 2018). There are conflicting opinions on the return of blue macaws to their natural habitat. It is not known if such attempts will be successful because domesticated individuals lose their ancestral culture of free birds, which allows them to survive in the wild.
Reference
Capatides, C. (2018). Blue macaw parrot that inspired “Rio” is now officially extinct in the wild. CBS News. Web.