Spix’s macaw, known scientifically as Cyanopsitta spixii, is a species of macaw native to northeastern Brazil that has been considered extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2019. The species, though considered one of the smallest existing macaws, has and is facing large threats to its natural habitat and environments. In recent years, however, conservation and breeding programs and organizations have been making positive strides in rebuilding the population and reintroducing the species back into its natural habitat.
Earning its name from Johann Baptist von Spix, a German naturalist who first collected a specimen of the bird in April of 1819, this macaw’s native home lies in Bahia, Brazil, in the tropical, hot and dry Caatinga climate and ecoregion (Kupferschmidt; Spix 25). The Caatinga is a diverse region with thousands of endemic species and hosts a wide variety of vegetation, flora, and plant types, with a number of nuts and seeds constituting most of the bird’s diet (Ellis; Lleras; Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta Spixii): Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation Fact File). Primarily, the birds nest in old Caraibeira trees native to the region (Kupferschmidt).
However, although the species is endemic to the region and relies on what its environment offers, over one hundred years of destruction in the form of “deforestation, human encroachment, and agricultural development” caused the population to dwindle rapidly, along with hunting, capturing, and collection of the birds (Kupferschmidt; Schischakin). In the mid-1990s, one wild male macaw was known to exist in the wild, but was later found dead — with many believing the species to be completely extinct (Kupferschmidt). Unexpectedly, in 2016, the first sighting of a Spix’s macaw in the wild, near Curaçá, Bahia (although perhaps a captive escapee) created hope and promise for the species (Daley; Dale).
Since discovering that members of the species still exist, conservation organizations embraced valiant efforts to create captive breeding programs that would allow the species to grow and thrive. Conservation and preservation teams such as the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) in Berlin and Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar facilitate species reproduction and care, and there are currently about eighty birds managed within these programs (“Spix’s Macaw”; Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta Spixii)). On November 4, 2021, the ACTP hatched its first Spix’s Macaw chick in Caatinga, Brazil, and marked a huge milestone in the literal and figurative rebirth of the species under this organization’s care (“Spix’s Macaw”). Although a few macaws hatched prior to this date, ACTP’s positive reputation seemed promising in ensuring the bird matured healthily and with a great chance of survival (“Spix’s Macaw”). Currently, about 150 Spix’s macaws exist in the ACTP’s Berlin-based captive conservation environment, with 52 having migrated in 2020 to the Caatinga region as the first wild-environment-bound group (The Spix’s Macaw).
Although the progress so far has been reassuring, the threats of illegal capture, trafficking, and human destruction of the macaws’ home in the Caatinga still exist (Kupferschmidt). While current efforts include planting thousands of seedlings and types of vegetation to revert the current state of the approaching-desolate landscape, it may take years or even decades before the macaws can rebuild their homes in the trees they once called home (Kupferschmidt).
Upon initially reading about this project, I was very excited to create a 3D replication of something. I’ve always been one to enjoy translating my sketches and 2D designs into a tangible form. Since my personal design process typically involves translating my designs into *exactly* the idea I had in mind, this project was a little different for me in that there was some sense of limitation on the forms I could create with the recycled objects I was able to collect. Nevertheless, I really appreciated the way this project helped me step beyond my comfort zone, avoid some of that perfectionism, and find a way to make a pretty neat final product anyway!
To create this model, I used an empty Downy Fabric Softener bottle for the macaw’s body, a Tide detergent bottle’s lid for its head, extra polyester felt sheets I had for the head and body feathers, cardboard product boxes for the wing feathers and tail, a plastic shampoo bottle lid for its beak, and buttons/construction paper for the eyes.
Notes on materials’ environmental impact: Chemical fabric softeners, unfortunately, have been considered possibly harmful to the environment and our bodies for quite some time — the compounds that make our clothes soft, quaternary ammonium compounds, have the potential to worsen air quality if vented outdoors, exacerbate asthma symptoms, or harm the reproductive system, as well as cause skin irritation (Geller). Synthetic felt (polyester for this project) also has the possibility to harm the environment, especially if the plastic used to create is not recycled (Edwards). One of the best ways to ensure a more environmentally friendly use of felt is to use natural, biodegradable fibers such as wool (greenorb).
Sketches & Visual Ideating
Creating the Model
I was immediately drawn to the curved body of the Downy fabric softener bottle, seeing the sharp angle on the side towards the top as the bird’s chest, and the smooth outer contour towards the bottom as a place for where the tail and wing feathers join at a point. The large handle of the bottle would’ve created a strange curve in the bird’s back, so I decided to cut it off, and it had a more defined middle/lower back concave curve after removing it.
I decided to use the felt feather technique from Sketch 1, making cuts close together on a strip of felt and then gluing the strip around the body circularly. I chose the smaller feather technique for the body instead of cutting out larger feather shapes (Sketch 3 at top) because the types of feathers on the head and body are not the long, wide feathers we might typically see on the wings or tail. While the felt ‘feathers’ are nowhere near as long as the wing or tail feathers, the strips I cut for the back of the body were longer than on the front torso or head — just to mimic some realistic details. I attached the felt strips to the Downy bottle with hot glue.
Because the original location of the Downy lid (as seen in the left picture above) would have been too high for the bird’s head in a relaxed state, I glued a Tide detergent bottle’s lid more towards the front of the bird (it was larger than the Downy lid, and better proportioned to the bird’s body). Once the head was on the body, I could envision the bird’s shape better, and it seemed to be coming together. I finished the body using the same felt feather technique around the neck and head, using the lighter blue color.
Now that the feathers for the body and head were complete, the wings and tail (which visually conjoin a bit) remained. Since the elements of the bird’s ‘skeleton’, the Downy bottle and Tide lid, aren’t visible, I really wanted some prominent part of the bird to feature a material that is clearly recycled (just to emphasize the goal of this project!). I had some fun saving and collecting blue food and drink boxes — they’re hard to find! Referring to Sketch 2 (top right) and Sketch 3 (bottom left), the “long football” shaped feathers with hard edges seemed to be the most realistic for the wings and tail. The closer the feathers were to the back of the bird, the longer I cut them — macaws have very long tails which I tried my best to imitate. It was difficult finding parts of the boxes that had only blue sections, but I think I made it work.
To finish off my little bird, I used white buttons and black construction paper to assemble the eyes. I also attached a black plastic shampoo bottle lid for the beak, and included one last white ring of felt feathers around the eyes to brighten up the face and mimic the natural head colors.
Works Cited
Dale, Alex. “Spix’s Macaw Heads List of First Bird Extinctions Confirmed This Decade.” Bird Life International, 5 Sept. 2018, https://www.birdlife.org/news/2018/09/05/spixs-macaw-heads-list-first-bird-extinctions-confirmed-this-decade/.
Daley, Jason. “Spix’s Macaw, Star of ‘Rio,’ Spotted in the Wild for the First Time in 15 Years.” Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spixs-macaw-thought-extinct-wild-videoed-brazil-180959576/.
Drake, Nadia. “Parrot Who Was Among Last of Its Kind, Said to Have Inspired ‘Rio,’ Dies.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 28 June 2014, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140629-spix-macaw-presley-rio-parrot-brazil-science.
Edwards, Clare. “Is Synthetic Craft Felt Environmentally Friendly?” EHow UK, https://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7396147_glue-mdf-acrylic.html.
Ellis, Richard. No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species, 1st ed., HarperCollins, New York, New York, 2004.
Geller, Samara. “Skip the Most Toxic Fabric Softeners.” EWG, 16 Aug. 2022, https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/08/skip-most-toxic-fabric-softeners.
greenorb. “Is Felt Biodegradable (And How To Be Eco Friendly With Your Felt Products).” Thinking Sustainably, 20 Dec. 2021, https://www.thinkingsustainably.com/is-felt-biodegradable/.
Kupferschmidt, Kai. “A Wild Hope: Two Decades after It Disappeared in Nature, the Stunning Blue Spix’s Macaw Will Be Reintroduced to Its Forest Home.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 9 June 2022, https://www.science.org/content/article/two-decades-vanished-stunning-spixs-macaw-returns-forest-home.
Lleras, Eduardo. Caatinga of North-Eastern Brazil. Centro Nacional De Pesquisas De Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172623/http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/sa/sa19.htm.
Schischakin, Natasha. “Cyanopsitta.” June 1999.
“Spix’s Macaw.” Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots, E.V., https://www.act-parrots.org/spixs-macaw/?lang=en.
Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta Spixii): Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation Fact File. Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, http://awwp.alwabra.com/?p=1054.
Spix, Martius. Avium Brasiliensium Species Novae, vol. 1, 1824, p. 25.
The Spix’s Macaw: A Species’ Return from Extinction, https://www.spixs-macaw.org/.
