by Tony Juniper
Brown-throated 46
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 34, 57, 153, 159–60, 165, 178, 184, 187, 202, 215, 233, 237, 243–5, 256–7
Cooke, Gordon 156
Cruz, Ceferino Santa 69–70
Ctesias 38, 46
Cuddy, Joe 68, 69
Curaçá 92–3, 110, 113, 114, 119, 122, 196, 209, 237
d’Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines 65–6, 67, 80
Da-Ré, Marcos 197, 206, 207, 212
deforestation 18, 19–20, 23, 66–7, 70–1, 82, 99–102, 110, 188, 221–2, 263–4, 270–2, 272
Dios, Antonio de 86, 165, 166, 176, 177–8, 181, 185, 187, 200, 204, 219, 226, 227, 230, 235, 237, 240, 242, 244–7, 249, 250, 252
Diversity of Life, The (Wilson) 147
Dominica 269–70
Duque de Caxias 98
Dutton, Reverend F.G. 29–30
elephant 184
Escola da Ararinha 198
extinction
European colonisation and 124–44
island ecosystems 124–39
natural process of 147–9
total number of species 138
Finsch, Otto 26
Foreign Birds for Cage and Aviary 30–1
Fulljames, Henry 29–30
Golden Hamster 267–8
Gould, John 45
Hague, William 258
Hamburg Zoo 67
Hämmerli, Dr Joseph 187, 200, 204, 226–7, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234–5, 236, 239
Hellmayr, Carl 32
Henry VIII 42
Hoorn, Willem Bontekoe van 129
Houston Zoo 175, 219, 226, 248, 255
IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e do Recuros Naturais Renováveis) 264
Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots (Lear) 72, 80
Indermauer, Adolf 235
International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) 57, 89–92, 138–9, 179, 185–6, 197, 264
International Monetary Fund 96
Isabella of Castile, Queen 41
Isle of Pines 131
Janeczek, Friedrich 246–7
Juàzeiro 21, 31–2, 109, 110
Kaempfer, Ernst 31–2
Kawall, Nelson 169, 186, 199–200, 203, 204
Keller, Carlos 168, 169, 170
Kiessling, Wolfgang 160–6, 176, 177–8, 181, 184–5, 186–7, 198, 204–5, 214–15, 216, 217, 218, 228, 230, 246, 248, 249–50, 251, 254
Koopman, Ann 86, 153, 154–5, 187
Labrador, Sanchez 64
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste 15
Lance Formation, Wyoming 37
Latham, John 20
Lesser Antilles 133
Leumann 187, 234, 236
Loh, Terrance 165
London Zoo 43, 67
London Zoological Society 28, 181
Loro Parque Foundation 198, 214–15, 219–20, 229, 230, 245–6, 253–6
Loro Parque, Tenerife 85, 160–5, 176, 181, 185, 192, 203, 214–20, 228, 229, 230, 233, 248, 249, 274
Low, Rosemary 52, 54
Luquillo National Forest 56
macaw
Blue-winged 6–7, 11, 121–2, 210, 212–20, 267 see also maracanas
Cuban 131
Glaucous
captive population 67
colour 63–5, 126
extinction 70–1, 88, 135
feeding habits 70
genus 60
habitat 69
Lear’s Macaw, comparisons 68
wild population 67–8
wild sightings 65–7, 69–71
Green-winged 254
Hyacinth 19–20, 21, 109–10
colour 63–5
feeding habits 61–2
genus 60, 131
Lear’s Macaw, comparisons 72–4, 77
personality 62–3
population 81–4, 88
size 62
smuggling of 84–6
Spix’s Macaw, comparisons 25, 60
value 83, 87
wild sightings 104
Lear’s 21–2
colour 72
feeding habits 73, 79
genus 60
intelligence 73
name 72
nesting 78–80
rarity 73, 74
size 72
value 81
wild population 80–1, 88, 140
wild sightings 74–81
Lesser Antillean 131
Red-bellied 108
Red Cuban 132–3
Scarlet 42
Spix’s see also Permanent Committee for the Recovery of Spix’s Macaw captive breeding programme birth of 172
DNA mapping 183–4, 186, 205–6, 227–8
illegal transfers/sales 227, 230–5, 240–52
inbreeding 173, 182, 183, 203–4, 206, 226–7, 231, 235–6, 267
Mauritius model for 260–3, 264–7
ownership rights for existing birds 177–8, 185
ownership rights for offspring 177
pairings 203–6
population, 1990s improvement in 199–201, 203
population, 2000 226–7
sexing 170, 183–4, 186
studbook 173–4, 177, 181, 203–5, 248–50, 255
habitat, natural 103–4, 106–7, 109–23
buriti palms 90–2, 102, 108
caraiba tree 1, 7, 8, 93, 115, 118–19, 121, 194
destruction of 18, 19–20, 23, 66–7, 70–1, 82, 99–102, 110, 188, 221–2, 263–4, 270–2, 272
Melância Creek 93–5, 115–23, 146–7, 152, 154, 160, 169, 187–8, 190, 192, 194, 197–8, 207, 209, 213, 215, 216, 219, 223, 226, 264, 267
São Francisco valley 19, 20–1, 26, 31, 109, 111, 140–7
reintroduction programme
captive Spix’s released to aid 219
failure of 223–6
hybridisation 210–12
local help 186–9, 197–8
maracanas eggs, attempts to hatch 210, 212–20
maracanas, release of captive 215
release facilities 192
soft release 272
wild
disappearance of last 223–6
discovery and naming of 25–7
discovery of last 89–123
extinct 225–6
feeding habits 30, 91, 97–8, 223–4
nest holes 120
population 88, 89–95, 140, 157–8
predators 11
sightings 27–8, 90, 91–2, 93
skins 28–9
talking 30, 31
temper 30–1
trade in 13, 32–4, 57, 84–6, 152–3, 159, 179–80, 185, 187–8, 231, 236, 256–9, 272
value 29, 42, 55, 233–4, 236, 242, 247, 250, 255
maracanas see Blue-winged Macaw
Marcos, Imelda 167
Marigo, Luiz Claudio 90–1, 94, 97, 103, 105, 106, 107, 112, 114, 117, 118
Martius, Dr Carl Friedrich Philip von 14–23, 58, 79, 95–6, 102, 115, 143, 274
Mascarene Islands 124–9, 133, 138
Mauritius 126–9, 134, 260–4, 266
Dodo 125–6, 128, 150, 260, 274
Kestrel 261
Pink Pigeon 260–1
Maximilian of Bavaria, King 128
Melância Creek 93–5, 115–23, 146–7, 152, 154, 160, 169, 187–8, 190, 192, 194, 197–8, 207, 209, 213, 215, 216, 219, 223, 226, 264, 267
Messer, Roland 231–2, 233–4, 236–7, 238, 239–40, 243, 250, 251–2, 255
Minas Gerais 19, 82, 100, 104, 108–10
Monograph of Parrots (Wagler) 25
Moreira, Ulisses 33
Naples Zoo 33, 166–7
Natural History Museum 28
Natural History Museum of Munich 23, 25
Newton, Alfred 127–8
Operation Palate 257–8
Operation Renegade 85
Otoch, Roberto 91, 99, 107, 112, 114
Oxford University 190
Paignton Zoo 33
parakeet 36, 46
Alexandrine 39
Andean 37
Antipodes 37
Blossom-headed 46
Carolina 135–7, 274
Echo 129, 261, 270
Newton’s 126–8
Ring-necked 39–40
Seychelles 127
Paris Zoo 71
parrot
advertising, use in 44–5
antiquity 36–7
captive bred, behaviour of 53
feeding and transportation 42–3
human qualities 35, 45–54
humans, historical association with 38–45, 132
longevity 51
partner bond 49–51, 53–4
personality 51–2
population, effect of Conquistadors on wild 41–2
population, percentage in captivity 45
population, uneven distribution of 37–8
psychology 52–4
social order 51
talking 30, 31, 40, 46–59
value 54–6
parrot, breeds
African Grey 40, 42, 47–8, 49, 52–3
Blue-fronted 109
Broad-billed 128
Cuban 41
Imperial 133–4
Kakapo 35
Mascarine 128
Puerto Rican 56
Pygmy 35
Red-necked 133–4, 181
Rodrigues 128
St Lucia 269
St Vincent 237
Yellow-faced amazon 109
parrots, illegal trade in
action against 152–3, 159, 179–80, 256–9, 272
dealers 231, 236
smuggling 57, 84–6, 185, 187–8, 256–9
trappers 6–10, 12–13, 56–8, 109, 157–9
Parrots and Parrot-like Birds in Aviculture (Marquis of Tavistock) 31
Pepperberg, Irene 47–8
Permanent Committee for the Recovery of Spix’s Macaw 176–7, 179, 183, 189, 192, 197–8, 200, 210, 212, 215, 219, 224, 227–52, 255, 256
pistoleiro 94, 104
Pittman, Tony 68, 69, 71, 84
Pliny 39, 46–7
Polo, Marco 40
Pontual, Francisco 91, 97, 99, 105, 112, 117, 118, 197
Przewalski Horse 265–7
Reiser, Othmar 27–8, 32, 110
Rodrigues 126–8
Roth, Paul 92–5, 110, 117, 122, 144, 157–8, 180
Rothschild, Walter 28
Rotterdam Zoo 33
Royal Botanical Gardens 141
Runco, Mario 147
Salto Grande hydroelectric complex 69
San Diego Zoo 265
Santos, Mauricio dos 169, 186, 192, 193, 199, 204, 205, 215, 251
São Francisco valley 19, 20–1, 26, 31, 109, 111, 140–7
São Paulo Zoo 156, 168, 169–70, 176, 178, 179–80, 182, 183, 186, 190, 193, 199, 203, 204–5, 251–2, 254, 255, 259
Schischakin, Natasha 175, 203, 235, 237, 247–8, 250, 255
Sick, Helmut 24, 74–8, 80, 91, 94, 97, 99, 102, 103
Siculus, Diodorus 39
Silva, Tony 84–7, 153, 185, 188
Singapore Aviculture 165
Sissen, Harry 68, 256–8, 259
Smith, George 166, 169–70
Sobradinho dam 144–5
Sousa, Jorge de 208
Soye, Yves de 218, 219, 245–6, 249
Spix, Dr Johan Baptist Ritter von 14–25, 58, 79, 95–6, 102, 143, 274
St Lucia 134
St Vincent 134, 270
Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 249
Stephan, Colonel 135
Stevenson, Robert Louis 132
Teixera, Dante 91
Threatened Birds of the World (Wilson) 149
Tito, President 167
TRAFFIC 152, 252
Tropicus Breeding Centre 168
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Special Operations Branch 85
US Endangered Species Act 85
Vienna Zoo 33
Villalba-Macias, Dr Juan 152, 154–5, 187, 234, 252
Vogelpark Walsrode 166, 176, 181, 199
Voous, K.H. 74, 75
Wagler, Johann 25–6
War of Triple Alliance 70
Waugh, David 214–15, 218, 228–9, 233
West Indies 129–34
Windward Islands 133, 268
World Bank 144–6
World Conservation Union 152, 176, 181
Parrot Specialist Group 175–9
World Parrot Trust 261
World Wildlife Fund 152
Yamashita, Carlos 78–9, 91, 99, 103, 106–7, 108, 109, 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 258
Acknowledgements
I am very privileged to have had the opportunity to chart the saga of the world’s rarest bird. In this endeavour, I have been assisted by many people.
Myles Archibald at HarperCollins first encouraged me to develop the idea and Marie Woolf from the Independent newspaper in London finally convinced me to write the proposal. I am indebted also to Mike McCarthy, the Environment Editor at The Independent, who inspired me to actually get on and do it.
Without Fourth Estate, who decided to publish it, there would be no book – so thanks to them too, especially Clive Priddle and Mitzi Angel who so expertly guided my writing into what I hope will appear to the reader as a reasonably coherent account. My wife Sue Sparkes was a determined research assistant, and my children, Maddie, Nye and Sam, have, as ever, proved patient and understanding; so have my colleagues at Friends of the Earth. Ankin Ljungman and Otto Seiber from Friends of the Earth International kindly read a draft for me.
Dr Nigel Collar at BirdLife International has been an invaluable source of information and advice and a spring of inspiration in digging up details. I have been greatly assisted in my endeavours by his colleagues Sue Shutes, Jeremy Speck and Christine Alder in the BirdLife International Secretariat in Cambridge, England. I have also been assisted by the National History Museum in Tring, the British Library, London, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, the library in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, London, and to the staff in the library at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London. Ray Simmonds in the Cambridge University Zoology Museum helped me too.
I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Wolfgang Kiessling and Yves de Soye at Loro Parque who agreed to speak to me frankly about their experiences with Spix’s Macaw and who assisted me with various details that otherwise would have eluded me. Roland Messer, Joseph Hämmerli and His Excellency Sheikh Saud Al-Thani also provided me with interviews and information for which I am very grateful.
Juan Villalba-Macias in Uruguay gave me invaluable material and insights, as did Jorgen Thomsen of Conservation International in the United States. I would like to thank Tony Pittman, Roger Sweeney in Barbardos, David Waugh at the Edinburgh Zoo, Miriam Behrens from Friends of the Earth Switzerland, Peter Olney of the London Zoological Society and Mike Reynolds and Andrew Greenwood of the World Parrot Trust, all of whom gave me their time and much vital information. I would also like to thank Rosemary Low, Penny Walker, Paul Butler, Gordon Cooke and Craig Bennett who all furnished me valuable advice. I would like to thank my Brazilian friends Carlos Yamashita, Francisco Pontual, Luiz Claudio Marigo and Roberto Otoch for all the help they provided – not only in the writing of this book, but for being such good companions during our search for wild Spix’s Macaws back in 1990.
By contrast to the World Bank, who were not especially helpful with information about their funding for large dams in north-east Brazil, Nick Hildyard at the Cornerhouse in Dorset, England, was of great assistance to me. I would also like to thank Korinna Horta and Amy Boone at the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington DC who aided me in this respect too.
Steve Broad, Teresa Mulliken and Crawford Allan at TRAFFIC International and Stephanie Pendry of TRAFFIC UK all helped me in different ways. So did Jim Armstrong and John Barsdow at the CITES headquarters in Geneva. I am also grateful for the input of Swiss CITES official
s in Bern.
I am also very thankful for the help of Sigrid Shreeve, Jim Sparkes and Sheila Barnes de Shvetz who aided me in translating German, Portuguese, French and Spanish documents, and my very good friend Tim Morris in Munich who not only helped with translation but picture research too.
Tony Juniper. Cambridge, March 2002
About the Author
SPIX’S MACAW
Tony Juniper is the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth and co-author of the award-winning Parrots. He lives in Cambridge, and campaigns in the UK and worldwide on a broad range of environmental issues.
Notes
1 All quotes attributed to Spix and Martius concerning their expedition to Brazil are taken from An account of travels in Brazil at the command of his Majesty, Maximilian Joseph I, King of Bavaria, in the years 1817 to 1820. The original work was published in German. An English translation of volumes one and two was completed by H. E. Lloyd and published in 1824.
2 Reiser, O. Liste de Vogelarten welche auf der von der Kaiserl. Akademie der Wissenschaften 1903 nach Nordostbrasilien entsendeten Expedition unter Leitung des Herrn Hofrates Dr. F. Steindachner gesammelt wurden, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math-Naturwiss. Kl. 76, 1926.
3 See Pinto, O. M. O. Catálogo de aves do Brasil. São Paulo: Secretária da Agricultura, 1938.
4 Lei no. 5197 was passed in that year by the government’s Forestry Institute and ended the legal export of native Brazilian wildlife.
5 CITES was signed in Washington DC in 1973. The treaty operates through two main appendices. Appendix I includes species essentially banned from international trade that may only be shipped between countries under very restricted circumstances and with the relevant paperwork. Appendix II lists species that may be traded but only at a level that will not endanger them in the wild and with relevant CITES permits. In all cases, exports of wildlife listed in CITES may only be traded with other CITES signatories in accordance with the laws of the exporting country. Spix’s Macaw was included in Appendix I of the Convention from 1975.
6 Forshaw and Cooper’s Parrots of the World, Blandford 1989, and Juniper and Parr’s Parrots, Pica and Yale University Press, 1998, provide comprehensive summaries of the parrot family, including details on the natural history, distribution and conservation status of all known species.