Cuban Red Macaw

Extinct circa 1864 CE • Cuba

"The last living bird of which there is a record is of one shot at La Vega, close to the Zapata Swamp, during 1864, but probably some individuals survived in southern Cuba for another 20 years or so . . .Local residents hunted adults for meat and often took young birds as pets, two activities that must have played an important role in the macaw's decline. Little is on record of the species' habits. It is likely that it ate similarly to other macaws; the food was probably nuts, seeds, fruits, and shoots."

Fuller, Errol. Extinct Birds. Ithaca, NY: Comstock Pub., 2001.

Illustration of Cuban Red Macaw, John Gerrard Keulemans. Rothschild, Lionel Walter. Extinct Birds. ... London: Hutchinson, 1907.