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ROSEMARY LOW
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THE BLUE MACAWS
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THE BLUE MACAWS Mystery, tragedy, extinction and hope By Rosemary Low and Luís Fábio Silveira The definitive work on the all-blue macaws: Spix’s, Lear’s, Hyacinth and Glaucous 490 pages, 145 colour photos and six maps Hardback with extra strong cover Price: approx. £34 plus postage Available in the UK from Wildside Books Email [email protected] Available in Europe from [email protected] |
Co-author Rosemary Low
Co-author Luís Fábio Silveira
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Co-author Luís Fábio Silveira is the Curator of Birds and the Director at Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP).
He started breeding birds at the age of ten and successfully bred Brazilian parrots. He obtained a degree in Biology in 1995 and a PhD in Zoology in 2003. Traveling and studying birds in Brazil during the past 30 years, he observed in the wild 84 of the 87 parrot species currently recognized in Brazil. Luís has published many scientific papers on Neotropical birds. Both authors brought different skill sets and areas of knowledge and experiences to the writing of this book. Neither could have accomplished it without the other. And, on a literally daily basis, without the internet to banish the 9,500km (nearly 6,000 miles) between them, their collaboration would have been impossible. They met for the first time in 2019. They already knew each other’s books and how their passions and their views coincided exactly. They were kindred spirits, both with a deep love of the Blue Macaws, whose stories were interwoven with their own lives and with those of the people desperately trying to conserve them in the wild. The histories of these unique macaws are so remarkable, you could not make them up. Even while the book was being written, a series of dramatic and historic events unfolded, some deeply worrying, others cause for celebration. What lies ahead for these unique and wonderful blue icons is unknown – but no effort or expense or new initiatives must be spared in their conservation. |
Rachel Lewis painted the evocative cover picture of Spix’s Macaws, bringing the birds vividly to life. From New South Wales, Australia, Rachel has had a paint brush in her hand from a very young age and became fascinated with keeping and painting birds.
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CONTENTS
Introduction Significant people in the stories of the blue macaws 1. Why are they blue? 2. Early history through Art 3. Macaws benefitting the environment and human communities Spix’s Macaw 4. Who was Spix? 5. The elegant macaw – or is it a Conure? 6. Habitat Loss and Trapping led to the End of the Line 7. Captive Spix’s Macaws up to the 1940s 8. Aviculture in Brazil from the 1950s 9. Spix’s Macaw in Aviculture outside Brazil 10. Breeding at Loro Parque, Tenerife 11. Breeding with Dr Hammerli, Switzerland 12. Al Wabra – the Collection of a Sheik 13. Impact of Martin Guth and ACTP in Germany 14. Spix’s Macaw Recovery Committees 152 15. Captive Breeding Saved it 16. The Last Survivor 17. Planning for the Spix’s Macaw Reintroduction 18. Post-release of Reintroduced Population Lear’s Macaw 19. The remarkable Edward Lear 20. Discovery and Natural History 21. Conflict or Conservation? 22. Illegal Trade in Lear’s Macaws 23. Electrocutions 24. Reproduction in the Wild 25. Reintroduced Population 26. Early records of Lear’s Macaw in Aviculture 27. Lear’s Macaw in aviculture in the 21st century 28. Breeding at Al Wabra 29. Lear’s Macaws in the UK |
Hyacinth Macaw
30. Hyacinth Macaw Populations and Status 31. Habitat and Food Sources 32. Reproduction in the Wild 33. The Vital Role of Conservation 34. Illegal Trade in Hyacinth Macaws 35. Fires in the Pantanal 36. Ecotourism for the Hyacinth Macaw 37. Aviculture – Historical and Practical 38. Hyacinth Macaw Breeding in Aviculture 39. Diets of Captive Hyacinth Macaws 40. Hand-rearing 41. Feather-plucking and Self-mutilation Glaucous Macaw 42. Gone without a Trace 43. Habitats – and the least known birds of the world 44. History in Captivity Comment and Conclusion 45. Hope or concern? Or both? 46. Hope or Concern? Or both? 47. Sentience and trade in parrots 48. Quality of life for captive macaws Appendix I: Rearing and development of young Spix’s Macaws Appendix II: Rearing and development of young Lear’s Macaws Appendix III: Diets for captive Spix’s and Lear’s Macaws Index People mentioned in the text or illustrated Zoos and breeding centres Acronyms and organisations |
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