Virus outbreak deepens rift over return of Spix’s macaw to Brazil

CURAÇÁ, Brazil — Under the scorching sun of Brazil’s semiarid Caatinga shrubland, squawks tear through the skies, signaling the arrival of one of the most threatened bird species in the world. Quickly, the unmistakable blue silhouettes fly overhead. It’s the Spix’s macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), a species declared extinct in the wild in 2000 and now the focus of a reintroduction project. However, upon closer observation, from among the blur of turquoise-blue feathers, some white ones emerge. On May 12 this year, BlueSky, the Brazilian organization responsible for the breeding center used for the reintroduction of Spix’s macaws in the city of Curaçá, in Brazil’s Bahia state, notified state and federal authorities that seven of the birds had tested positive for circovirus, including one chick b