''Anodorhynchus'' is a genus of large blue
macaw
Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild.
Biology
Of the many differe ...
s from open and semi-open habitats in central and eastern
South America. It includes two
extant species, the
hyacinth macaw and
Lear's macaw
Lear's macaw (''Anodorhynchus leari''), also known as the indigo macaw, is a large all-blue Brazilian parrot, a member of a large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. It was first described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. Lear's mac ...
also known as the indigo macaw, and one probably
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species, the
glaucous macaw. At about in length the hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot in the world. Glaucous and Lear's macaws are exclusively cliff nesters; hyacinth macaws are mostly tree nesters. The three species mainly feed on the nuts from a few species of palms (notably ''
Acrocomia aculeata'', ''
Attalea phalerata
''Attalea phalerata'' is a species of palm tree known by the English common name urucuri palm, the Portuguese common name ''urucurizeiro'', and the Spanish common name ''shapaja''. Other common names include ''motacu''Justi, S. A., et al. (2010)I ...
'', ''
Butia yatay'' and ''
Syagrus coronata
''Syagrus coronata'', commonly known as the ouricury palm, aricuri palm, or licuri palm, is a species of palm tree that is native to eastern Brazil, ranging from the southern part of the state of Pernambuco, into the state of Bahia, south to the ...
'').
While blue macaws have been known from taxidermic and captive specimens since at least 1790, location of the Lear's macaw's endemic habitat wasn't known until 1978.
The glaucous macaw was extirpated in the 1800s by clearance for agriculture and cattle grazing of the yatay palm (Butia yatay) groves upon which it fed, though rumors of its continued existence persist. Lear's macaws have made a comeback from near extinction in the early 1980s (about 60 birds) to over 1000 as a result of conservation programs. Hyacinth macaws remain locally common within parts of their range, but their range has become fragmented into three known distinct populations in southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia and northeastern Paraguay; populations are declining due to extensive trapping for the pet trade as well as habitat loss.
All ''Anodorhynchus'' macaws are listed on
CITES Appendix I.
Taxonomy
The genus, ''Anodorhynchus''
Spix, 1824 is one of six genera of Central and South American macaws in tribe ''Arini'' of macaws, parakeets and closely related genera. The macaws and parakeets comprise the clade of long-tailed parrots which with sister clade the short-tailed Amazonian parrots and allies make up subfamily ''Arinae'' of Neotropical parrots in family ''Psittacidae'' of true parrots. There are three currently recognized species (two extant and one probably extinct), all
monotypic:
Some recent commentators have suggested that the allopatric Lear's macaw and glaucous macaw should be considered conspecifics.
Besides the three recognised species, there is the
violet macaw
The Guadeloupe amazon (''Amazona violacea'') or Guadeloupe parrot, is a hypothetical extinct species of parrot that is thought to have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island region of Guadeloupe. Mentioned and described by 17th- and 18th- ...
, ''Anodorhynchus purpurascens'', which was described by
Rothschild
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...
and featured in his book, ''
Extinct Birds
Out of the approximately 11,154 known bird species, 159 (1.4%) have become extinct, 226 (2%) are critically endangered, 461 (4.1%) are endangered, 800 (7.2%) are vulnerable and 1,018 (9.1%) are near threatened. There is a general consensus among ...
'' published in 1907, but there is very little evidence to support it as separate species and it should be regarded as a
hypothetical extinct species
Several species have been assumed to exist, but due to a lack of evidence they can only be regarded as potential species. They have caused confusion, as they may have been a separate species, a subspecies, an introduced species or a misidentific ...
. In the absence of a specimen, Rothschild scientifically described and named it as a separate species based on the evidence that violet macaws were said to have inhabited the island of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
; however, they were probably hyacinth macaws imported from the mainland of South America.
Species details
See also
*
List of macaws
The list of macaws includes 19 species of macaws including extinct and critically endangered species, and does not include several hypothetical extinct species that have been proposed based on very little evidence.
Species in taxonomic order
'' ...
*
Spix's macaw, another distantly related blue macaw
References
External links
"Blue Macaws website"''Macaw Blues (part one): A Postmortem for the Glaucous Macaw''''Macaw Blues (part two): A Postmortem for the Glaucous Macaw''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q635333
Bird genera
