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Twenty-five years after being smuggled out of Brazil, one of the world�s rarest parrots is going home. The Spix�s Macaw, which is extinct in the wild, was found in Colorado.

KNOWN AS �PRESLEY,� the bird was kept as a household pet. When its mate diedhas diedwas dying�last summer, the owner asked the World Parrot Trust for help in returning the bird to it'sits�native country.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with Brazil�s wildlife agency and the World Parrot Trust, got the necessary permits, health checks and other steps taken care of andsowhen the Spix�s Macaw could make the trip to a breeding facility in Brazil.

Months later, Presley is back home for the first time in a quarter-century.

He�ll be paired with a female parrot, housed in the perfect climate and fed a diet that matches closely what the bird would have eatenshould have eatenate�in the wild.

At 25, Presley still has several years overleftto go�to breed and researchers are hopeful that Presley will add to the recovery of the species.

The Spix�s Macaw is one of only four species of �blue macaws� and is known for its iridescent indigo-blue feathers and its long sweeping tail.

�Of the tens of millions of parrots in cages around the world, we hear rumors about rare birds like this occasionally, but they alwaysseldomnever lead to discoveries as critically important as this Spix's Macaw,� said James Gilardi, Ph.D., director of the World Parrot Trust. �We�re enormously pleased by the cooperation of the owner and the respective governments, and we hope this bird�s homecoming will mark the start of a renewed spirit of cooperation on behalf of the Spix's recovery from extinction.�

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Information provided by the World Parrot Trust.