An unexpected sighting has been made of one of the world’s rarest birds.

There are thought to be fewer than 100 surviving Spix’s macaws, a large blue-feathered species of parrot that once lived in the rainforests of Brazil.

All those birds live in captivity. The last known wild bird disappeared at the end of 2000.

There’s hope again

But now a lone Spix’s macaw has not only been sighted flying wild, it has been caught on film, which you can watch in the video above.

Experts from the bird conservation charity SAVE Brasil are now scouring the forests in which it was seen, in an attempt to relocate the bird.

The bird was sighted and filmed by 16-year-old Damilys Oliveira, whose family had previously donated a small area of their property to become a reserve for Spix’s macaws.

“And the bird then appears in front of their house!” says Pedro Develey, SAVE Brasil’s Director.

SAVE Brasil is the national partner organisation of BirdLife International, which is headquarted in Cambridge, UK.

“It’s very symbolic,” says Develey. “There’s hope again, and the people there are really committed for the reintroduction.”

Uncertain origin

The wild individual was spotted flying over the trees and village of Curaçá, in the Caatinga area of Brazil.

The origin of the bird is uncertain. It may not have been born in the wild, “but was quite possibly released from captivity,” according to Develey.

“Conservationists have had a large presence in the area where it would likely have been seen otherwise, and recent patrols and project warning signs against trapping might have prompted a panic release.”

“Either way, one thing is for sure: a Spix’s macaw in the wild is precious,” he says.

Desperate efforts have been made in recent years to save Spix’s macaw from extinction, including captive breeding efforts in Brazil, and in Germany and Qatar.

“As far as I know there is no missing bird in the breeding centre in Brazil, that is located more than 2000km from the site,” Develey has confirmed, adding weight to the idea the bird has recently been released by a private collector.

“Now we have a model to understand the bird’s behaviour in the wild,” adds Develey. “We can understand what to do when we release the captive birds in Curaçá.”

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