Under the blazing sun of Brazil semiarid Caatinga shrubland, the piercing cries of the rare Spix’s macaw once again filled the skies a sound thought lost forever after the species was declared extinct in the wild in 2000. The reintroduction of these striking turquoise-blue birds in the Bahia region had sparked global hope for conservation success. But now, the project faces a severe setback: the detection of circovirus, a lethal and highly contagious disease that could threaten the very survival of this fragile population.
On May 12, BlueSky, the Brazilian organization overseeing the Spix’s macaw breeding and reintroduction center in Curaçá, Bahia, notified authorities that seven birds had tested positive for circovirus. Among them was one chick born in the wild marking a historic milestone but now shadowed by danger and six others being prepared for release.
Circovirus known for causing beak and feather disease, is a major threat to psittacines, the bird family that includes parrots, parakeets, and macaws. The virus leads to feather loss, beak deformities, and severe immune system damage, often resulting in death. It spreads easily through contact with infected feathers, nesting materials, or contaminated surfaces such as feeders and perches.
What makes the discovery even more alarming is that circovirus had never before been detected in wild birds in Brazil or anywhere in South America. The virus is native to Australia, and its appearance in one of the world’s rarest bird species has prompted concern among conservationists and government agencies alike.
BlueSky promptly informed Brazil’s Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the federal body responsible for wildlife protection. In a report released on September 14, ICMBio revealed that earlier in January 2025, one of 41 Spix’s macaws shipped from a breeding center in Germany to Brazil had also tested positive for circovirus before transport.
The German nonprofit Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) has long managed a large share of the global Spix’s macaw population roughly half of all remaining individuals. The ACTP had partnered with ICMBio for years on the species’ reintroduction before their agreement was terminated in 2024, with BlueSky taking over the breeding program in Brazil.
Although the infected German macaw tested negative in a second round of testing eight days later, ICMBio scientists warned that a single negative result cannot confirm the absence of infection, as the virus can remain latent and undetectable for periods of time. Nevertheless, all 41 birds, including the one previously testing positive, were transferred to Brazil without Brazilian authorities being informed a breach of biosafety protocol, according to ICMBio’s findings.
Following the May outbreak in Curaçá, ICMBio’s wildlife disease unit (CoEce) declared a state of environmental emergency dispatching inspection teams to the breeding site in June and August to evaluate containment efforts and sample testing procedures. However, officials reported facing several operational challenges at the facility, complicating their containment and monitoring efforts.
The situation has also led to tensions between conservation partners. While ICMBio and independent experts stress the need to test wild Spix’s macaws to determine whether the virus has spread beyond captivity, the ACTP has publicly opposed the move. In social media posts and live broadcasts, the organization argued that capturing and testing the few wild individuals could jeopardize the entire reintroduction program.
But leading ornithologists disagree. Luís Fábio Silveira, curator of birds at the University of São Paulo zoology museum, emphasized that testing is essential. “There’s no other way, You have to capture and test, this is for the project’s own safety. We have a sanitary emergency a real, urgent problem. It’s imperative for the safety and peace of mind of everyone involved that the animals be tested” He said.
For now, the fate of the Spix macaw once brought back from extinction through decades of global collaboration hangs in the balance. Conservationists are racing against time to contain the virus before it devastates the fragile population that symbolizes one of the world most ambitious wildlife restoration efforts.