Return of a Giant: Red-and-green Macaws

Abstract

Humans have historically persecuted macaws for their colourful plumage. In the province of Corrientes in northeastern Argentina, there were at least two macaw species: the Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus), which became globally extinct, and the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus), which also disappeared from the region. These macaws inhabited forest islands between wetlands, and palm and gallery forests along the rivers. Today, the nearest Red-and-green Macaw population is 300 kilometers north of Corrientes, in Brazil and northern Paraguay. Although the Red-and-green Macaw is globally listed in the IUCN Red List as a species of “Least Concern” the species is declining in some regions. In Argentina, there are no recent records and ornithologists agree than the species is extinct in the country, so it is classified as a “Critically Endangered” species at a country level.