Tony Juniper - Spix’s Macaw - The Race to Save the World’s Rarest Bird

THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRD

Fourth Estate

A Division of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2002 by Fourth Estate

This edition first published in 2003

Copyright © Tony Juniper 2002 and 2003

The right of Tony Juniper to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN: 9781841156514

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN 9780007391776

Version: 2016-01-12

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

For my Mother and Father

Cover

Title Page SPIX’S MACAW THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRD

Copyright Copyright Copyright Dedication Map Chapter 1 The Real Macaw Chapter 2 The First Spix Chapter 3 Parrot Fashion Chapter 4 The Four Blues Chapter 5 What Are You Looking For at the End of the World? Chapter 6 The Legions of the Doomed Chapter 7 Private Arks Chapter 8 The Rarest Bird in the World Chapter 9 Uncharted Territory Chapter 10 Betrayal Chapter 11 An Extinction Foretold? Epilogue Index Acknowledgements About the Author Notes About the Publisher Fourth Estate A Division of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain in 2002 by Fourth Estate This edition first published in 2003 Copyright © Tony Juniper 2002 and 2003 The right of Tony Juniper to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Source ISBN: 9781841156514 Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN 9780007391776 Version: 2016-01-12 HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Dedication Dedication Dedication Map Chapter 1 The Real Macaw Chapter 2 The First Spix Chapter 3 Parrot Fashion Chapter 4 The Four Blues Chapter 5 What Are You Looking For at the End of the World? Chapter 6 The Legions of the Doomed Chapter 7 Private Arks Chapter 8 The Rarest Bird in the World Chapter 9 Uncharted Territory Chapter 10 Betrayal Chapter 11 An Extinction Foretold? Epilogue Index Acknowledgements About the Author Notes About the Publisher For my Mother and Father

Map Map

Chapter 1 The Real Macaw

Chapter 2 The First Spix

Chapter 3 Parrot Fashion

Chapter 4 The Four Blues

Chapter 5 What Are You Looking For at the End of the World?

Chapter 6 The Legions of the Doomed

Chapter 7 Private Arks

Chapter 8 The Rarest Bird in the World

Chapter 9 Uncharted Territory

Chapter 10 Betrayal

Chapter 11 An Extinction Foretold?

Epilogue

Index

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Notes

About the Publisher

The blue parrot came to rest on a bare sun-bleached branch that stuck out from the bushy crown of a craggy old caraiba tree. The magnificent old plant, some 25 metres tall, was one in a long ribbon of trees that fringed a winding creek. The parrot had chosen a high branch, a natural vantage point. From his lofty position, the bird scanned the flat thorny cactus scrub that lay around in all directions. He climbed to a branch slightly lower down, using his feet and beak, checking behind and above for airborne predators. When hawks were hunting, a second of relaxation could cost him his life. Once the parrot was satisfied it was safe, he cried out, quite a harsh call, but thin with a trilling quality. He received a distant reply, and then another.

Moments later, from around a bend in the creek, two parrots appeared, flying fast and strong above the treetops. They followed the line of the green-fringed channel, their long tails flexed and strained against the air, their flowing blue plumes acting as a rudder to steer a course towards the huge tree. They spread their tails, rotated their wings backwards and fluttered to rest next to the bird already perched there. The thin branches swayed as they took the parrots’ weight. The birds’ scaly grey feet gripped tightly as the branches rocked gently back and forth. The parrots fluffed out their body and flight feathers and waggled their tails to ensure that their plumage lay correctly. This ritual ensured they would be ready for instant flight should they need to leave in a hurry. Finally, every feather in place, they settled down on the caraiba tree.

The trio were the adult male parrot who had first made the call, and a pair of young adults. More chatter followed, then the birds indulged in friendly fencing with their hooked black bills. Their sharp yellowish eyes regarded one another carefully, their dark pupils dilating. Then once more scanning the surrounding land, the first bird began to climb down the caraiba tree. Beneath it was a pool of muddy water.