Glaucous macaw facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Glaucous macaw |
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| Illustration by Bourjot Saint-Hilaire | |
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Anodorhynchus
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glaucus
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The glaucous macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus) is a very large, blue and grey parrot from South America. It belongs to a group of parrots called macaws. This macaw is closely related to other blue macaws, like Lear's macaw and the hyacinth macaw. In the Guaraní language, people called it guaa-obi. This name comes from the sounds the bird made.
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What Does the Glaucous Macaw Look Like?
The glaucous macaw was about 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) long. That's pretty big! Its body was mostly a pale turquoise-blue color. Its head was large and greyish. The word "glaucous" describes this special blue-grey color.
This macaw had a long tail and a very large beak. Around its eyes, it had a bare, yellow ring of skin. It also had yellow, half-moon shaped patches near its lower beak.
Where Did the Glaucous Macaw Live and Why Did It Disappear?
This beautiful bird lived in several South American countries. Its home included northern Argentina, southern Paraguay, and parts of Bolivia. It also lived in northeast Uruguay and Brazil.
Why Did the Glaucous Macaw Become Rare?
The glaucous macaw started to become rare in the 1800s. There were two main reasons for this. First, many birds were caught to be sold as pets. Second, their natural homes were destroyed. People cut down the forests where they lived.
After the 1800s, there were only two possible sightings of these birds in the wild. That was in the 1900s. Scientists searched for them in Paraguay in the 1990s but found no proof they were still there. Only the oldest people in the area remembered seeing the macaw. The last confirmed sighting was in the 1870s.
The Importance of the Yatay Palm
The disappearance of the glaucous macaw is likely linked to the cutting down of the yatay palm trees. These trees, called Butia yatay, produced nuts. These nuts were probably the main food source for the macaws. Without their food, the birds could not survive.
Even though some good habitat still exists, like in El Palmar National Park in Argentina, no one has seen the bird there. Sadly, a study in 2018 suggested that the glaucous macaw is "Critically Endangered - Possibly Extinct." This means it's either very close to disappearing forever or it might already be gone.
