In Brazil, a pair of endemic Spix's macaws (Cyanopsitta spixii, also known as the little blue macaw) has hatched two chicks. This is the first time since 1986 that chicks of this species have hatched in the wild.

In June 2022, the reintroduction of the critically endangered parrots into the wild began in Brazil with eight birds. The goal of the Spix's macaw project is to establish a self-sustaining breeding population of this species in the wild.

The last known parrot of this species in the wild disappeared in 2000, likely after a collision with power lines. This event prompted cooperation between private breeders, zoos, and the Brazilian government to build a captive population of birds that could be released into the wild to restore the wild population.

The Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP), a German nature conservation organisation, and its partners released the first parrots back into their native habitat, which is typically characterised by small, thorny trees.

Cromwell Purchase, ACTP Brazil director and project centre manager, explains: “A pair of Spix's macaws – a male released in June and a female released in December 2022 – have hatched two chicks. It is in one of the artificial nests we have attached high up in a tree. Initial attempts to breed were infertile, but the birds' persistence paid off, and the second attempt resulted in two fertile eggs, which led to the hatching of two healthy chicks.”

Spix's macaws once became targets for poachers and collectors from all over the world; the illegal bird trade contributed to the destruction of the birds' habitats and their decline in the 1980s, with only one individual remaining in the wild by 1990. By the time the species was declared extinct in the wild, only a small number of captive birds remained. Despite the small genetic pool, viable birds have been bred in captivity to restore the wild population.

https://www.birdguides.com/news/spixs-macaw-breeds-in-wild-for-first-time-in-37-years/