The Blue Macaw that inspired the movie “Rio” are now finally extinct in the wild. A new study by BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations that strive to conserve bird species around the world, reveals that in recent years several bird species have lost their fight for survival. And sadly, one of those species is the beautiful Spix’s Macaw. The species is now considered extinct in the wild, although some of the birds survive in breeding programs. Many species of birds are going extinct in the recent years. While the majority of bird extinctions in recent centuries have occurred on isolated islands, five of the eight highlighted by this study occurred in South America – four in Brazil alone – a tragic statement on the impact of deforestation in that part of the world. These birds are dying out do to lack of places to live because of deforestation  

Today, in the face of human-caused climate change, the expansion of urban areas, and increasing extreme weather events, many of the world’s animals are truly in a bad situation. The blue birds may be extinct in the wild but hopefully they will be able to make a comeback being in breeding facilities.