Jamaican red macaw explained

The Jamaican red macaw (Ara gossei) is a hypothetical species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that lived on Jamaica.

History

The only reported specimen was shot on Jamaica around 1765, and was later seen by a Dr. Robertson when it was stuffed; the specimen has since been lost. Robertson sent a description of it to Philip Henry Gosse, who published his own description in 1847:[1] Robertson stated the bird had never been seen or figured before, and that it was very different from any macaw he had ever seen. One 1765 illustration is thought to depict this bird, but has also been suggested to be an imported Cuban macaw.[2] The parrot was considered identical to the Cuban macaw by some 19th-century naturalists, but was given its own binomial by Rothschild in 1905.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hume. J. P.. M.. Walters. 2012. Extinct Birds. A & C Black. 978-1408157251.
  2. Olson. S. L.. E. J. Maíz López. 2008. New evidence of Ara autochthones from an archeological site in Puerto Rico: a valid species of West Indian macaw of unknown geographical origin (Aves: Psittacidae). Caribbean Journal of Science. 44. 2. 215–222. 10.18475/cjos.v44i2.a9 . 54593515. https://web.archive.org/web/20110725141152/http://caribjsci.org/July08/44_215-222.pdf. 2011-07-25.