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The Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus)
The Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) is a large all blue South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots known as macaws. This macaw, generally believed to be extinct, was closely related to
Glaucous Macaw
the Lear’s Macaw A. leari and the Hyacinth Macaw A. hyacinthinus. In Guaraní, it was called guaa-obi after its vocalizations.
The Glaucous Macaw is 70 centimetres (28 in) long. It is mostly pale turquoise-blue with a large greyish head. The term glaucous describes its colouration. It has a long tail and a large bill. It has a yellow, bare eye-ring and half-moon-shaped lappets bordering the mandible.
Anodorhynchus glaucus was formerly widespread but clearly very local in north Argentina, south Paraguay, north-east Uruguay and Brazil from Paraná state southwards. It was endemic to the middle reaches of the major rivers and adjacent areas, with most records coming from Corrientes, Argentina.
It became rare before or early in the second half of the 19th century and there were only two acceptable records in the 20th century, one direct observation (in Uruguay in 1951) and one based on local reports (in Paraná in the early 1960s). Whilst it has been generally treated as extinct, persistent rumours of recent sightings, local reports and birds in trade indicate that a few birds may still survive.
Any remaining population is assumed to be tiny (numbering fewer than 50 individuals and mature individuals) based on the lack of confirmed records since the 1960s.
Expeditions by ornithologists to southwestern Paraguay during the 1990s failed to turn up any evidence that the bird was still in existence. Furthermore, only the oldest residents of the region had knowledge of the macaw, with the species last recorded in the 1870s.
It was reported mostly along major rivers, but this may reflect travellers’ dependence on river transport rather than the true habitat requirements of the species. It appears to have been adapted to consume palm nuts as its staple, and therefore presumably wandered into palm-savannas and potentially lightly wooded areas.
The only palm in its range with the appropriate size and type of nut is the Yatay (or Chatay) Palm, Butia yatay (Yamashita and Valle 1993), whose nuts appear to have constituted its main food. It nested and roosted on cliffs and the average clutch-size was probably two eggs.
Settlement of the major river basins within its range was presumably accompanied by the widespread loss of palm-groves, either through direct clearance for agriculture or the suppression of regeneration by colonists’ cattle. The size and appearance of the bird probably made it a significant target for hunters, and even the taking of young as pets could have been important. There is some evidence that it was traded, but little to support various claims that there has been recent trade in live specimens. Any current trade in eggs, skins or live specimens would obviously be extremely harmful.
Suitable habitat remains in El Palmar National Park in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos as well as southern Brazil, however, no rumours of the bird’s continued existence in the past several decades have been proven credible.
A search conducted by Joe Cuddy and Tony Pittman in the mid nineties concluded that the birds were extinct in their former range. Rumours persisted that blue macaws were seen in Argentina and Bolivia with a dealer in Rosario (ARG) offering live specimens. The late George Smith gave many talks rich in conservation information on macaws, including this species, which he stated was not extinct in the wild but existed in remote areas of Bolivia where he had encountered trappers who could identify it. Moreover, he stated that stands of pure palm existed as far as the eye could see when he flew over the area which is yet to be investigated.
(Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Bird Life International)
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