Rare Macaw Species Advance Towards Protection under the Endangered Species Act

Beautiful Birds Threatened by Pet Trade, Habitat Loss

Additional Contact:

Lee Hall, Friends of Animals, 610-964-0090 or leehall@friendsofanimals.org

Washington, DC – In a step towards curtailing the harmful global trade in birds, all members of three macaw species, as well as a subspecies and a distinct population segment (DPS) of scarlet macaw, advanced towards vital protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed to list the hyacinth macaw, the military macaw, the great green macaw, the northern subspecies of scarlet macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera), and the northern DPS of the southern subspecies of scarlet macaw (A. m. macao) as “endangered” due to a variety of threats. The populations have declined in large part because of extensive collection of these attractive birds from the wild for the pet trade. All four species of macaw were listed under CITES Appendix I because the pet trade threatened them with extinction. Despite these protections, they are still threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, as well as continued illegal trade and hunting.

“ESA protection is key for foreign species taken from their homes for the pet trade,” said Taylor Jones, Endangered Species Advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Demand for these attractive, intelligent, and vocal birds in countries including the U.S. has driven extensive poaching in their home ranges. ESA protection is a further deterrent to trade and supports conservation efforts in these birds’ home countries.”

Friends of Animals and WildEarth Guardians, with the University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic, reached a settlement with the FWS in July 2010, in which the FWS agreed to provide overdue 12-month listing decisions for twelve parrot species petitioned by Friends of Animals. This finding is the last of those required under the 2010 settlement.

“Every bird cooped up in someone’s house is deprived of a free life with other members of their natural communities,” said Lee Hall, Legal Vice President for Friends of Animals, the group that filed the initial petition to list these communities of birds. “So we ask advocates in the United States and worldwide to complement our work with awareness campaigns to understand birds - no matter where they were born – as inappropriate pets.”

"We are pleased that the Fish and Wildlife Service has finally acted to protect these increasingly rare birds,” said Professor Mike Harris, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic. “ESA listing criminalizes the possession of these species, and their parts, in the United States. It is fitting that those who have profited from caging these beautiful birds will now face some 'cage time' themselves."

Hyacinth macaws are the largest birds in the parrot family, measuring around 3 feet in length. Their plumage is a dramatic cobalt blue and black, with yellow accents on the face. Their short, sturdy legs allow them to hang sideways or upside down while foraging. The species remains only in three areas, almost entirely within Brazil: Eastern Amazonia in Pará, Brazil; the Gerais region of northeastern Brazil; and the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil and marginally in Bolivia and Paraguay. Hyacinth macaws nest in tree or cliff cavities and most often occur in small family groups or in larger groups at feeding or roosting sites. Individuals will take turns serving as a lookout for the group. Their habitat, in particular the large tree cavities they need for nesting, is threatened by agriculture and cattle ranching. In the 1970s and 80s, their population was devastated by illegal capture for the national and international pet trade – a single macaw could earn a bird catcher over $12,000 USD. The U.S. was the main purchaser of parrot species at that time. Although CITES listing and prohibitions on hunting in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay reduced this threat, the hyacinth macaw population still struggles to recover in the face of habitat destruction and other continuing threats.

Great green macaws and military macaws appearance similar, though the two species are geographically separate. They are both vibrant, with dark lime-green feathers mixed with blue flight feathers. Their lower backs are blue, with red and blue tails and red foreheads. Military macaws are slightly smaller and darker, and are found in wet mountain forests of the Andes from northern Mexico southward into Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and the southern tip of Argentina. There are likely only 1,000 to a few thousand individuals remaining, scattered across their remaining habitat in small, isolated populations of less than 100 birds. They nest colonially in tree cavities and cliffs, and, like most parrots, mate for life. Their small populations make them particularly sensitive to poaching, and they also face habitat loss due to conversion of their mountain forests to agriculture and other human uses.

Great green macaws live in humid tropical forests. Deforestation has reduced their habitat and concentrated their population into five main areas: the border of Honduras and Nicaragua, the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the Darién region of Panama and Colombia, and two very small populations in Ecuador. The total population is likely between 1,000 and 3,000 individuals. Great green macaws favor the almendro tree (also known as the tropical almond or mountain almond tree) for feeding and nesting, but the habitat of the almendro has declined significantly. Great green macaws suffered heavily from poaching historically and are still trafficked for the pet trade in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Scarlet macaws, true to their name, are predominantly scarlet red, with bands of red, yellow, blue, and green on the upper side of their wings and blue tail-feathers. The scarlet macaw has the broadest range of all the macaw species, extending from Mexico southward to central Bolivia and Brazil. They require large nest cavities, generally in larger, older trees, and the scarcity of these nest sites due to deforestation and forest degradation limits the ability of these large birds to raise families. They are threatened most severely by illegal capture for the domestic pet trade within Mesoamerica. Scarlet macaws are popular pets within their home countries and are captured for sale in local markets. Illegal international trade may also be a lucrative endeavor – prices for scarlet macaws in the United States can reach over $2,000 USD. Scarlet macaws are hunted in some areas of their range for meat or feathers, though the level of this threat is unknown.

The FWS contends that scarlet macaws are secure within the portion of their range in the Amazon, but found that poaching was a substantial threat to the subspecies A. m. cyanoptera throughout its range in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and to the subspecies A. m. macao in Costa Rica and Panama.

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For species listed in Appendix I of CITES, anyone wishing to conduct international trade in the species must acquire both an export or re-export certificate from the country of export and an import permit from the country of import. An export permit for species listed in either Appendix I or II may only be issued if:

  • The export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild;
  • The specimen was legally obtained according to the animal and plant protection laws in the country of export;
  • For live animals or plants, that they are prepared and shipped for export to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health, or cruel treatment; and
  • For Appendix I species, an import permit has been granted by the importing country.

Import permits are issued only after the importing country determines that the permit will not be used for primarily commercial purposes. Thus, with few exceptions, Appendix I species cannot be traded for commercial purposes.


 

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