The red-headed macaw or Jamaican green-and-yellow macaw (''Ara erythrocephala'') may have been a species of

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

in the family

Psittacidae The Family (biology), family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the 12 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Afrotropics, Afrotropical parrots) and 167 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or ...

that lived in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, but its existence is

hypothetical A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess or tho ...

Description

Rothschild based it on a description which a Mr. Hill had sent to

Philip Henry Gosse Philip Henry Gosse (; 6 April 1810 – 23 August 1888), known to his friends as Henry, was an English natural history, naturalist and populariser of natural science, prolific author, "Father of the Aquarium", scientific illustrator, lecturer, e ...

: ''Ara erythrocephala'' could have been found in the mountains of Trelawney and St. Anne's Parishes, Jamaica. It was described to have been found in the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

, and presumably in

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

as well.

Extinction

It is believed that the main reason for the macaw's extinction was overhunting. The macaw is extinct, and it is conjectured to have been hunted to extinction in the early 19th century. It was a close relative of the Cuban and

Dominican macaw The Dominican green-and-yellow macaw (''Ara atwoodi''), Atwood's macaw or Dominican macaw, is an extinct species of macaw that may have lived on the island of Dominica. It is known only through the writings of British colonial judge Thomas Atwoo ...

s. Its existence is considered dubious today.

References

Ara (genus) Controversial parrot taxa Birds described in 1847 Extinct animals of Jamaica Macaws Taxa named by Philip Henry Gosse Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Hypothetical species Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{parrot-stub