Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird

On a Brazilian expedition in the early nineteenth century, Dr.Johan baptist Ritter von Spix shot a magnificent long-tailed blue parrot for his collection. He recorded that the bird "lives in flocks, although very rare, and is notable for its thin voice." Almost immediately, this rare parrot became a prized trophy for collectors. "Spix's Macaw tells the heartbreaking story of a unique band of brilliant blue birds--who talk, fall in love, and grieve--struggling against the forces of extinction and their own desirability. By the late twentieth century the birds drew up to $40,000 on the black markets, and in 1990, only one male existed in the wild. An international rescue operation was launched and an amnesty declared, allowing private collectors to come forward with their illegal birds, possible mates for the last wild Spix. In a breathtaking display of stoicism and endurance, the loneliest bird in the world had lived without a mate for fourteen years, outwitting predators and second-guessing poachers. But would he take to a new companion? This book tells the dramatic story of the rescue operation, and of the humans whose selfishness brought a beautiful species to the brink of extinction. The long, lonely flight of the last Spix's Macaw is both a love story and an environmental parable for our times.Tony Juniper is the author of 'Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird', published 2003 under ISBN 9781841156514 and ISBN 1841156515.