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Lear’s macaw returns

One of the rare parrots of the world, Lear’s macaw has come back from the brink. The rise in the numbers of this intelligent, indigo-coloured, tool-using bird in northeastern Brazil is a fine example of what sustained conservation action can achieve: insulate rare species from chronic threats, and stave off extinction. The story of the twinkle-eyed macaw is uplifting. From fewer than 100 birds two decades ago, its population has risen to an estimated 960. The species had declined, like several other parrots, mainly because it was trapped in the wild to feed the illegal bird trade. Its favoured food, the fruit of the licuri palm, has disappeared in many places. Consequently, the beleaguered macaws are known to raid corn farms — an act that provokes farmers to shoot them. Concern for the bird’s future was so high that it was, until recently, classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in its Red List. An improved population has lowered its threat status to ‘endangered.’ Like all good protection initiatives, the American Bird Conservancy and its Brazilian partner, Fundacao Biodiversitas, focussed on expanding habitat and keeping poachers away from nesting and roosting sites of the macaw, mainly in the Canudos reserve in Bahia.

Lear’s macaw nests in sandstone cliffs regularly attract trappers. A scientific study of nest trapping of neotropical parrots found some years ago that this macaw was threatened by a phenomenon called the ‘extinction vortex.’ The rarer a bird gets, the greater the pressure from collectors, who are willing to pay ever-higher prices for it. Experts have blamed such vortex pressure for the loss of the Spix’s macaw in the wild, and the decline of golden conures, hyacinth, and other macaw populations. Some of India’s own parrot species are vulnerable. Bird populations decline sharply when specific trees they depend on disappear. This phenomenon has affected hornbills in India, for example. In the case of Lear’s macaw, the conservation initiatives led by the Brazilian government are making visible progress in restoring the licuri palms. A stronger international effort to stop trapping and trading in birds is vital, since existing penalties are insufficient. What stands out in the tale of the large macaw named after the poet and artist Edward Lear is the efficacy of scientific in situ conservation — securing habitat for the endemic species and reducing stress factors. The reward is periodic bursts of brilliant indigo in the sky, accompanied by a distinct croaking or screeching call.

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