published 1765
The Lesser Antillean macaw (Ara guadeloupensis) was a parrot of the Guadeloupe islands. There are no conserved specimens, but this macaw is known from several contemporary accounts, and the bird is the subject of some illustrations. Austin Hobart Clark made a species description based on these accounts in 1905. A phalanx bone from the island of Marie-Galante confirmed the existence of a similar-sized macaw predating the arrival of humans, and was correlated with the Lesser Antillean macaw in 2015. According to contemporary descriptions, the body was red, the wings were red, blue and yellow, and the solid red tail feathers were between 38 and 51 cm (15 and 20 in) long; apart from the tail feathers and its smaller size, this description matches the scarlet macaw. These accounts also said that it ate fruit (including the poisonous manchineel), nested in trees and laid two eggs once or twice a year. Although it was said to be abundant in Guadeloupe, by 1760 it was becoming rare and was soon eradicated, probably by disease and hunting. (Full article...)
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