Red-headed Macaw

The red-headed Macaw ( Ara erythrocephala ), also known as Green Jamaica Macaw, is an extinct macaw species from the island of Jamaica.

Description

The red-headed macaw was described in 1847 by Philip Henry Gosse basis of reports from 1810 and 1842. The first report comes from a Mr. White, the owner of the Oxford Estate in Jamaica, who claims to have seen this bird in 1810 in the mountainous regions of Trelawny Parish and Saint Ann Parish. The second report comes from a Reverend Comard from 1842 who wants to have two large macaws observed in the mountains of Saint James Parish. After Gosse description of the bird's head was colored red. The neck, the shoulder and the bottom showed a bright yellow - and -green color. The greater wing-coverts and quills were blue. The tail was bright red and blue on the surface. The lower feathers of the wings and the tail was intensely colored orange - yellow.

Maybe this macaw species was mentioned earlier by Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the name Anodorhynchus caerulens. It was probably wiped out by overhunting.