Argentina races to return blue-winged macaw after decades of local extinction

At the Güira Oga Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Iguazú, veterinarian Dante Di Nucci carefully examines a blue-winged macaw. He checks every feather, takes X-rays, runs blood tests, and treats wounds. Each health check is the first step in an ambitious plan: returning a species that no longer flies freely in Argentina to the Misiones rainforest.

Decades ago, the small parrot — bright green with blue wings and red patches on its forehead, back, and belly — flew in noisy flocks over the region. But hunting, the pet trade, persecution by farmers who saw them as pests, and the loss of large nesting trees drove the blue-winged macaw to local extinction in the wild. Some birds still survive in captivity.

Now, Aves Argentinas is coordinating a conservation program with dozens of partner institutions in Argentina and Brazil to bring the bird back. The plan combines rescuing trafficked birds, captive breeding, and training them for eventual release into the rainforest.

The blue-winged macaw, Primolius maracana, is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Habitat loss and the pet trade have contributed to its shrinking numbers. In Argentina, there are no recent records from Misiones Province, where many were killed by farmers.

While wild populations face pressure, numbers have increased in Brazil, giving conservationists hope. The goal is to reestablish the species in Misiones after decades of absence, restoring the noisy flocks that once defined the rainforest canopy.