Forgotten Feathers

Six Stories Of Birds On The Brink

Daniel

Leroux
 Introduction

Time is a river, it flows one direction and when the water reaches the its end it disappears.

This is often how I explain endangered species. We need to do something before they die out or

they are gone. After that we cannot go back. We have two choices with the battle of saving these

species, each with its own set of problems. Do nothing an risk the whole ecosystem collapsing,

or try and save the species and hope you don’t waste money and resources for nothing. For some

species it is too late, others may have a chance the problem in today’s world is this: Is it worth it?

This book focuses on six birds. Three are already extinct and three still survive. I believe

two of the three have a fighting chance. There is one problem, the same question remains. Money

influences endangered species just as much as humans. Forests are cut down to make paper for

money, money is spent on projects to save forest habitats, we end up with a input equal to the

output. In todays world we are all about making more output than input, making this a waste of

time to most. These stories show that it may be time to reconsider the answers to the questions

we ask.

“Marine Vet” Daniel Leroux

Author and Animal Lover

 Off The Grid: Nicobar Scops-Owl

In 2001 an expedition to collect specimens in Campbell Bay on Great Nicobar collected

two owl specimens unknown to science. They were named Nicoar Scops-Owls (Otus alius). The

bird was not seen again for a while until one was photographed in 2003 on Teressa Island, one of

the Nicobar Islands located in the Bay of Bengal, India. Not much is know as these are the only

specimens ever seen.

They are currently ranked as DD or Data Deficient species as most of the Nicobar Islands

are not well surveyed enough to know about their population. They are presumed rare and live

around coastal forests. As for diet the two captured one was observed to have eaten a spider and

a beetle. The other ate a gecko.

Threats are present even though Great Nicobar is a Biosphere Reserve with two National

Parks, Campbell Bay and Galatea. The natives are allowed rights that non-natives are denied

such as use of natural resources. Costal forests on the other islands are also being cut down for

coconut, banana, and cashew plantations. Road development also requires trees to be cut down.

The biggest blow to the species was most likely the tsunami of December 26th, 2004

which caused destruction of breeding habitat of the species. After the destructive wave

plantations sprung up rapidly to raise money to rebuild the island.

Proposals have been made to survey Great and Little Nicobar using audio recordings to

determine the presence of this species. They will also examine the population, habitat, and

possible threats to the owls. This will turn to research into how to protect them from extinction.
 Ghost Of The Forest: Ivory Billed Woodpecker

It is the second largest woodpecker in the world. Dwarfed only by the Pileated

Woodpecker (Hylatomus pileatus) is the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis).

First observed in 1820 when John James Audubon and his apprentice Joseph Mason shot one

along the ohio river. It lived in the virgin forests of the Southeastern United Staes. In 1837

Audubon discovered many Ivory Bill’s along the Buffalo Bayou in Texas. In the 1870’s laws that

were in place that protected the Ivory Billed Woodpeckers habitat were removed.

The forests were clear cut by timber companies. In the 1890’s collectors began collecting

this rare bird further declining the population. In 1893 Johannes Gundlach published his account

of the ivory-billed woodpecker in his two volume Ornithologia Cubana. Describing how the bird

was also native to Cuba. in 1898 the Spanish-American war had come to an end. The United

States took control of Cuba’s land and economy and they cleared most of Cuba’s forests for

Sugar Cane plantations.

In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt on a hunting trip in Northeastern Louisiana noted

his spotting of an ivory-billed woodpecker. He described the bird with “Brilliant white bills in

contrast to the finely black feathers”. Soon after the woodpecker was thought to have gone

extinct due to hunting and habitat loss. Arthur A. Allen the founder of Cornell Laboratory of

Ornithology along with his wife Elsa were out on a walk when they proved the birds were still

alive.
 They spotted a pair of the birds along the Taylor River in Florida. Unfortunately the word

spread quickly. Two taxidermist hearing about the discovery shot the birds. This was at the time

the only way to prove that a species was not extinct. This also happened in the case of Attorney

Mason D. Spencer. He and a state legislator from Tallulah, Louisiana shot an ivory-billed

woodpecker in the forests of Singer Tract Swamp in 1932. He stated he did this to prove to state

wildlife officials that the ivory-bill still existed in the area.

In 1937 Cornell ornithologist James Tanner spent 3 years collecting information on the

species. He made some of the most amazing discoveries including being able to monitor one of

their nests. Most amazingly he produced the first motion picture and sound recording of the

species. when he finished his research in 1939 he was able to estimate that only 22 ivory-billed

woodpeckers remained alive in the United States.

This research sparked the National Audubon Society to launch a campaign to preserve

Singer Tract Swamp as a wildlife refuge for the woodpecker. Appendix G of the action plan

developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services was also written stating that “If there is any

change in the current status such as new photographic evidence, video, repeated location of

birds, identified roost cavity, or active nest(s)” they will also be designated as protected areas.

The sightings of ivory-billed woodpeckers decreased until it was debated if they were still

alive or extinct. The last sighting that was proven to be true happened on February 11, 2004.

Kayaker Gene Sparling caught a glimpse of a “large and majestic woodpecker” in the Cache

River National Wildlife Refuge of Hot Springs, Arizona. In 2005 a video called the Luneau video

was shot. Unfortunately some believe it shows a pileated woodpecker. It is still debated today.
The ivory-billed woodpecker may still be out there and if it is it is good to know that it is still

protected under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

No Way Out: Passenger Pigeon

According to Smithsonian they were once the most common bird in the United States.

Numbering in the billions they were hunted for meat and later sport. Eventually their habitat was

destroyed by westbound settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, long before conservation was an

issue. They were the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and they are now extinct.

They were hunted in huge numbers, a hunt in 1878 in Michigan slaughtered seven

million birds. They were then sold on the market for 50 cents a dozen. Then the last confirmed

sighting of one in the wild took place during March of 1900 in Ohio. The American

Ornithologists’ Union became concerned and between 1909 and 1912 offered a $1,500 reward

for anyone who could find a colony or nest of the birds.

The damage was done and the last wild passenger pigeons ever were in captivity. George

and Martha named after the first President and his wife. Martha hatched in the Cincinnati Zoo in

1885. Zookeepers encoured the bird to mate but the attempts were futile. in 1910 George died

leaving Martha the last of the species on earth. She lived to the age of 29, Adudon states

“Ancient by pigeon standards”. Pigeons typically live about 15 years. Maura O’Conner stated

that “Passenger pigeons went extinct in about one-thousandth of a percent of the time they were

on earth”
 Joel Greenberg author of A Feathered River Across The Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s

Flight To Extinction stated “During her final years Martha became less inclined to flutter or

move from her pearch. She nonetheless received a steady stream of visitors, who, thanks to a

sign posted on her aviary, knew that they were looking at the last living member of a doomed

species”. Greenberg wrote how visitors “would throw sand at her to prompt her to move”.

Martha died on September 1, 1914. Her body was encased in 300 pounds of ice to endure

a three-day train ride to Washington D.C. Then at the National Museum of Natural History she

was photographed, skinned and mounted. R. W. Schufeldt was the ornithologist tasked with

preparing the birds body for museum preservation. He chose not to fully dissect the heart stating

that he would rather “Preserve it in its entirety, as the heart of the last ‘Blue Pigeon’ that the

world would ever see alive.”

In 2013 the Long Now Foundation announced The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback.

Headed by Ben Novak it is a project aimed at reviving the species through it’s DNA samples.

They wish to be able to assemble a complete passenger pigeon genome and transfer it into the

germ cell of a Band-Tailed pigeon in order to generate a live passenger pigeon. The Target date

for the return of the species in 2022. Smithsonian states “Until then you are welcome to visit

Martha, who still stands sentinel on a branch at the National Museum of Natural History in

Washington D.C.”

Echos Of The Past: Kauai O’o

 It is known by many names including Reliktowiec Maly, Schuppenkehlmoho, and

O’o’a’a. Its official common name is the Kaua’i O’o (Moho braccatus). Native to the island of

Kaua’i in the United States Hawaiian Islands it was common in the 1890’s. In the early 20th

century it declined rapidly and by the 1970’s it could only be found in Alaka’i wilderness

preserve.

They feed on nectar and would actively defend their favorite feeding spots from other

birds. They seemed to favor the flowers of the ‘ohi’a lehua (Metrosideros pilymorpha) and

lapalapa trees (Cheirodendron platyphyllum). According to a species study by George C. Munro

in 1944 the species bred in March and April. The only nest ever found was in a ‘ohi’a lehua tree

hallow and contained two nestlings when discovered in June. Both parents were seen feeding the

chicks. The Kaua’i O’o was the smallest of the species at about 20 centimeters in length. Like all

the other O’o birds they were known for the hollow, haunting, flute like calls they vocalized.

Both male and females sang.

It originally ranged from sea level to the highest elevations on the island. It was belived

that the introduction of the Black Rat (Rattus rattus), pigs, and disease carrying Mosquitos were

the causes of decline. They were very similar to Honey Eaters (Family Meliphagidae) but DNA

evidence put them in a different family. In 1981 a single pair remained.

In 1982 Hurricane Iwa devastated Hawaii. The female of the pair was never seen again

the male was last seen in 1985. In 1987 vocalizations were recorded by Smithsonian as they were

creating a catalog of as many species of bird songs as they could. The male however was not

seen as the call of a male bird calling for a mate echoed through the forest. This was also the last
time anyone ever heard the song of a live Kaua’i O’o. They were later declared extinct. If the

bird did survive Bird Life International commented that its “far-carrying voice ought to render

detection easy if any remained”. The three other species of O’o birds are now also extinct.

Legacy Of Old Blue: Black Robin

The island of Little Mangere near New Zealand was the home of the last Black Robins

(Petroica traversi) on earth. 18 pairs were counted by wildlife officers in 1972. In 1976 a new

count was started with shocking news, only seven birds remained. Wildlife officers planted

120,000 trees to provide better shelter for the birds. 1980 came and two died and none bred.

Just one pair was able to breed named Old Blue (female) and Old Yellow (male). They

were the only hope the species had to survive. New Zealand Wildlife Service staff knew that a

similar species called Chatham Island Tits (Petroica macrocephala chathamensis) are so similar

that they can even breed with each other resulting in a hybrid called a Tobin. This gave them a

unique idea to save them.

The Black Robin typically mates for life and lays a clutch of two eggs per year that both

partners defend aggressively. The average life span of these birds is around 4 years. They are

small at around 15 centimeters long and weighing only 23.4 grams. They eat small invertabrates

they find by foraging through leaf litter. One such invertabrate is the Weta, a species of cricket

endemic to New Zealand. They tend to stay low and close to the ground to avoid strong winds

that often blow through the area, as they are poor flyers.
 The two breeding age robins were bred and researchers placed the eggs in the care of a

Chatham Island Tit by swapping the eggs in the nest. The team reserchers were shocked when

later they discovered the Old Blue laid a second clutch of eggs. Now we know that the birds will

lay a second clutch if there first on is lost.

The main threats to the black robin are their size making them an easy target for larger

animals introduced to the islands by settlers. The breeding program caused another problem. all

the black robins today are traced back to Old Blue as she was the only female robin in existence

at the time. This means that if a disease affects these birds all the birds have similar DNA

allowing the whole population to become affected.

This problem was solved by determined conservationist who decided to reduce the risk

by creating two populations. In 2013 there were 250 black robins. They were split between two

islands. Mangere Island and Rangatiri Island. Scientist also started a project to fence in an area

on Pitt Island to create another population but this failed due to competition for food with

introduced mice. Though someday conservationist hope to revive the program on both Pitt and

Chatham Island.

In 2007 the Chatham Island robin moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered on

the IUCN Red List. Today the population remains stable and the egg swapping technique is now

being applied to other bird species. Old Blue died at 14 years old. She was one of the longest

lived black robins known. Her legacy also makes her one of the most well known robins as well.

Cyan Survivor: Spix’s Macaw

 In the year 1638 German naturalist Georg Marcgrave first described a species of macaw

unknown to science while in Pernambuco, Brazil. In 1819 the first speciman was collected by

another German naturalist named Johann Baptist von Spix on the banks of the Rio Sao Francisco

in northeast Bahia, Brazil. This species was named Spix’s Macaw or Cyanositta Spixii after the

famous naturalist who collected the first specimen.

Johann was reported to have collected the specimen on the outskirts of the town Juazeiro.

He was with botanist Carl Friedrich Phillip von Martius at the time, who had arrived in brazil

two years earlier with a group sent by Archduchess Leopolandina of Austria. According to Carlos

Yamashita, Brazil’s leading authority on parrots, the bird was likely found in a mummified state

and sent to Europe on the ship Nova Amazona along with thousands of other species collected by

Spix.

The spix macaw was not observed again until 1903 when Austrian ornithologist Othmar

Reiser reported seeing the bird at two sites. Then, in 1927 German naturalist Ernst Kaempfer

recognized an individual caged at a train station. Yamashita states “the whole generation of

ornithologists in the ‘40s and ‘50s tried to find that animal.”

The search continued until 1986 when a Swiss ornithologist name Paul Roth reported

finding what he said were the last three wild individuals living near Caraca’s Melancia creek. He

found out that the species was threatened by hunting, animal trafficking, and the newly

introduced Africanized bees, which compete with the macaws for nest holes in trees.

In early 1987 he returned to find one of the macaws gone, likely captured by poachers.

The following year between Christmas and New Year’s eve he heard word that the other two
birds were gone. As he wrote in an article in the German magazine Papageien, “As these trappers

are not exactly gentle in their operations and they penetrated the area on this occasion with a

band of armed men, none of the local people employed by us as lookouts dared to interfere.”

The species was then considered extinct in the wild for the first time. In January 1990

Brazilian wildlife photographer Luiz Claudio Marigo sent a fax to the International Council for

Bird Preservation (known now as Bird Life International). He had heard rumors of a wild Spix’s

Macaw. Later IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environmental protection agency declared the species

finished.

Biologist Francisco Pontuel however disagreed stating, “This was not making sense” and

ICBP agreed and financed a new search. They made camp on a farm called Concordia. On this

mission was Marigo, Pontual, Yamashita, Roberto Otoch and Tony Juniper. Pontual stated

“When we left the car to walk up to the creek, we began to hear the macaws, as if it was the

voice of a ghost. From the sound, we knew it was him”.

Tony Juniper later wrote the book Spix’s Macaw: The Race to Save The World’s Rarest

Bird. As he states in this work “The cry grew louder, and louder still. Finally the source came

into view. Its blue plumage was visible in the first proper daylight. With a pale head, a

distinctively long tail, and deep wing beats, there was no doubt what it was. We had found a

Spix’s Macaw .... We were speechless as we simply stared at a creature we had come to regard as

almost mythical.”

The group spent a week following the animal. The animal was very uneasy as if it knew it

was being followed. Later their account was published in Manchete magazine. This outraged
IBAMA which threatened to sue, stating that the disclosure of the bird’s location was a beacon to

traffickers. They had also established the Permanent Committee for the Recovery of the Spix’s

Macaw and on the verge of creating the Spix’s Macaw Project to reintroduce captive birds into

the wild.

The project was headed by Marcos Aurelio Da-Re, a Brazilian biologist who was 25 at

the time. In 1991 he began work to restore the habitat for the birds. She needed to find a way to

protect the birds once released and sought the help of an unlikely person. Wildlife trafficker Luis

Ferreira Lima also called “Carlinhos das Araras” (Little Charlie of Macaws) dominated the

illegal pet trade in the 1980s. He was interested in cleaning up his criminal record and joined Da-

Re, vowing he would never again sell a Spix’s Macaw.

The committee had a new plan however, remove the macaw to introduce genetic diversity

into the captive population. This would risk the culture of the animal in the wild. This also

outraged the locals who said they felt betrayed by the committee. An agreement was reached a

female macaw would be released to become the mate of the remaining wild male. They chose a

female capured in 1987.

Da-Re stated the macaw was a good candidate because “She was not very imprinted. She

had an aloof personality, which would be advantageous in her return to the wild”. The bird was

driven by car to Concordia farm. At 7:22 a.m. on March 17, 1995 the bird was the first Spix’s

Macaw ever to be released to the wild. A problem had emerged however. Without any other wild

Spix’s Macaws the male had now paired with a Blue- Winged Macaw (Primolius maracana).

Half the woman in the community wanted the macaw to find a mate of his own species, while
the other half wanted him to be faithful to his first partner says Da-Re. Finally the male chose the

female of his own species, and the Blue Winged Macaw also found a new mate.

The cheer was sort lived. Later a cowboy reported her dead under a power line, most

likely from a collision. The male restored his relationship with the Blue Winged Macaw and

stayed faithful until December of 2000. That year he disappeared and the species was declared

extinct in the wild for the second time. At the same time in the U.S. something was about to be

discovered in a very unusual way.

This macaw is a medium sized parrot weighing at around 300 grams although it is small

by Macaw standards giving it the name Little Blue Macaw. It has a gray-blue head with plumage

ranging in color from Cyan to Cerulean. They lived in a habitat only found in Bahia, Brazil. It is

called the Caatinga and is a dry, arid scrubland part of the Amazon Rainforest.

Currently there are three species of Blue Macaw alive today. They belong to the Arini

group which includes all macaws and parakeets plus three genra of parrots. The Hyacinth Macaw

(Anodrorhynchus hyacinthinus) is the most common and the largest followed by the Lear’s

Macaw (Anodrorhynchus leari) which is also endangered and lastly the smallest, the Spix‘s

Macaw. There is another blue macaw now thought to be extinct, the Glaucous Macaw

(Anodrorhynchus glaucus).

Being an exotic bird drew the attention of smugglers, illegal poachers that profit off

catching birds and various other animals for the black market pet trade. Within a short span the

Spix’s Macaw was down to one male bird in the wild. A female was relesed in hopes the pair

would breed. She died months later thought to be caused by a collision with a power line. The
male macaw died in 2000 and was declared by IUCN, an organization that sets the denomination

of a species status by examining populations, as Extinct in the Wild.

Hope however was not lost biologists around the world having observed the rapidly

decling population collected birds in an attempt to save the species. Places such as Quatar’s Al

Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) and Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain had established small

cative populations. AWWP later developed Artificial Insemination for Spix’s Macaws. Problems

arose once again for the species when inbreeding caused inbalenced gender ratios, harmful

genes, and difficulty breeding fertile birds. They needed more birds.

People who had owned these birds for pets had their animals taken. This was a difficult

process because black market sellers often keep no record of the animals they sell. Such as the

infamous “Lizard King” Anson Wong who after being arrested claimed he had just sold 3 Spix’s

Macaws but had no record of whom they were sold to. Help for the species would come from the

most unlikely of places.

In August 2002, 41 year old Micki Santi was the manager of a veterinary clinic in

Denver, Colorado. She received many unusual cases over her years as a veterinarian but one day

when she received an anonymous call from a woman claiming she owned a Spix’s Macaw she

wished to return to Brazil. The woman knew Santi owned seven parrots and thought that she

would also have some knowledge about how to properly care for her pet bird.

Skeptical at first, Santi knew only under 100 birds were alive in captivity and with none

in the United States, She decided to investigate further and made a house visit. Santi was

surprised to learn that the bird was, in fact a Spix’s Macaw. Roberto Kaz states in an article from
Piaui Magazine in Brazil “To an astronomer, it would be like finding water on Mars.” This

discovery provided hope that the species would not end up like the Dodo or Passenger Pigeon.

The Spix’s Macaw in front of Santi had spent at least two decades in hiding. It is thought

that he was captured as a fledgling in the 1970s from Brazil and taken by car to Paraguay where

he was sold to James Cooke, a British Importer who was later sentenced to six months in prison

for illegal animal trafficking. After a stopover in Madrid, Spain and ride to London he joined

another macaw of his species both purchased by a Colorado collector. The collector started being

investigated and gave the birds to the woman, who later contacted Santi.

The fate of the second macaw is unclear, the other macaw however was given the name

Presley after the king of rock and roll. He later had a companion female green parrot

(Tanygnathus lucionensis) the family had adopted. Santi states “(The owners) were good people

who had children. The birds were part of the family. The lady knew she had a rare bird, but she

had no idea how rare and precious it was.”

Presley had formed a relationship with his green companion until 2012 when tragedy

struck. The green parrot died causing Presley to become depressed. The owner contacted Santi

and she signed an agreement with the federal government. The terms of the agreement stated that

she would turn over Presley and they would not prosecute.

With the bird in the governments hands the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the World

Parrot Trust started to coordinate an effort to return Presley back to Brazil. Since neither

organization had an office in Denver, Colorado Santi was appointed his guardian. That day Santi

wrote in her diary “Taking Presley from the home where he lived for 23 years was very difficult.
I developed a relation ship with him and his family, who trusted me. The family said good-bye

knowing he would be safe.”

In 2002 Presley had arrived at Santi’s house and met his new room mate, An African

Grey Parrot (Psittacus Erithacus) named Rikki. Santi stated “We thought he should have the

company of a bird”. Presley was lean and moody after his life changes but eventually got used to

it. His favorite toy was a small stuffed frog. He was allowed to walk around unlike Santi’s other

parrots because he needed the exercise. His diet was also changed to be more natural to his

species. He also sung along to the elvis song “Blue Suede Shoes“.

Presley needed some muscle restoration work so Santi would leave food on a different

perch every day to encourage him to move his wings. He learned to associate this with his

favorite food, Pine Nuts and this helped strengthen the bond between Santi and him. Three

months later a veterinarian at the Denver Zoo declared Presley was health enough to make the

20-hour journey to Brazil. In December U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service member George

Morrison flew to Miami and met with Santi and Brazilian wildlife protection official Lolita

Bampi, the former department head for IBAMA.

Presley was about to leave the United States. Santi handed his carrier to Bampi. She

stated “It was very sad- I cried, but it was also a good cry, because I knew he would meet other

birds”. After a long ride on a plane Presley was home again. Bambi stated “We flw straight to

Sao Paulo, and once we got there, we drove to the zoo that had experience dealing with the

species. Our expectations were that once paired with a female Presley could mate”.
 Fernanda Vaz, head of the zoo’s aviary at the time, placed Presley in a cage next to a

couple of macaws but he remained a bachelor for two years. Then the owner of an aviary in

Recife, Brazil was ordered by the government to hand over his four Spix’s Macaws he had

obtained illegally. In September 2004 one of those macaws, named Flor first met Presley. She

was the first captive born macaw in Brazil. Six months later they were paired in the same aviary.

At first she mostly ignored Presley as her sister was constantly making noise in a nearby

cage distracting her. Then they were moved because it was decided to be risky having all of one

species in one place. If a disease broke out they would all catch it. They were moved to

Lymington Foundation where the had an aviary overlooking the forset and Vaz stated “The two

actually started acting like a couple, they were always in the nest”.

Between May and August 2006 Presley and Flor produced 13 eggs. Unfortunately all

ended up infertile and Flor was transferred to Loro Parque Foundation in Spain. Presley now in

his third decade of life would be retired. He lived in a cage with a Golden Conure (Guaruba

guaruba) named Killer. Presley and killer got along well until 2013 when killer died. Presley

took it hard, falling into another depression.

Linda Wittkoff said, “We could not leave him alone”. Linda and her husband Bill were

Americans living in Brazil, and the main supporters of Lymington Foundation. Three days later

Presley had a new companion, Pricilla, named after elvis’s wife she was a Vinaceous Amazon

(Amazona Vinacea). They bonded immediately.

June 20, 2014, biologist Patricia Serefini called the vet to report Presley’s ill seeming

conditions. He was around 40 years old at the time and had barley eaten in a week and was now
breathing hard. The next mourning Presley was taken to the hospaital and treated by Ramiro Dias

with oxygen and medication. They wanted to do a closer examination but decided to wait, as

Presley seemed to weak to withstand anesthesia . Four days later he died.

The Wittkoffs quickly published a statement that read, “As the sun rose this morning on

Lymington Foundation, the world lost without exaggeration the best-known name in the bird

world”. They later stated they would miss his, “Cheery vocalizations as we would often pass by

his aviary. We truly believe he had a good life for his nearly 8 years”.

Receiving news by e-mail, Santi took out her diary and wrote, “I miss you Presley and

feel so honored that you shared part of your amazing life with me. I know you are at peace”.

Within a half hour, Dias was in his car driving 150 miles from Botucata to Sao Paulo. The bird

body next to him in a refrigerated Styrofoam box. In a university veterinarians Ricardo Pereira

and Jose Luiz Catao Dias begn to remove presley’s reproductive organs as Pereira had an idea.

After placing the organs into liquid nitrogen to preserve the cells in a dormant state he

can later thaw them and extract sperm. Then the sperm can be replaced into another bird and

used to fertilize a females eggs. This idea was so far preformed successfully in quails by Pereira.

He states, “Males have this advantage over females. They may have children in later life”.

There is hope. In 2015 six macaw chicks were born from artificial insemination.

Currently there are around 130 birds in captivity and scientist agree when the captive population

reaches 150 some will be released back into the wild. There is also habitat reconstruction in the

Caatinga and new stricter laws on poaching. With so many things happening the macaws might

have a chance after all.

 Epilogue

If the world could heal itself it would. It used to be able to, but as we accelerate our

emission, expansions, and needs we create an earth healing too slow to keep up. If this earth

became uninhabitable we may not have another place to go. It would take 100 years to set up

enough resources on Mars for 10 people to live there. There is time to change, there are people

out there making small changes that improve the health of the earth. Any change, no matter how

small has a snowball effect, just like in some of the stories above.

I chose to write about birds because they are the most threatened group in the animal

kingdom. I am most fascinated by aquatic species. Whales and dolphins were once the most

threatened species, but that has changed due to whaling regulations and boat traffic monitoring.

They have made an amazing comeback, so why can’t birds?

Birds are unique, they are great indicator species. An indicator species is an organism that

can determine a heathy environment by its presence. My favorite local example is the lichen, a

small symbiotic relation between plant and fungi that grow on rocks the side of rocks. If the air is

not healthy the plant will die and this will kill the fungi, if the water is unsuitable this will kill the

fungi, in turn killing the plant. Indicator species are determined by the number of factors that

keep them alive.

Birds need many things to survive. Most birds have a very limited diet, Spix’s macaws

only eat four types of fruit and nuts in the world. Birds have unique lungs to help them fly but at

the cost of them being very sensitive to pollution. Birds need lots of calcium for egg production,

and pesticides with DEET cause calcium breakdown. All these things can be counteracted by our
actions, planting trees for example will create cleaner oxygen and more food. DEET free

pesticides are not only easy to obtain but affordable.

Next time you get annoyed with a birds constant chirping in your backyard, think about

how the birds whose songs no longer fill the sky, and the forgotten feathers of the past.

Works Cited

"Chatham Islands Black Robin." Department of Conservation. New Zealand Department

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