Glaucous Macaw - Range and Decline

Range and Decline

This bird was native to north Argentina, south Paraguay, north-east Uruguay and Brazil. It became rare during the 19th century due to trapping and loss of habitat, and only two possible reports of wild birds were received in the 20th century. Expeditions by ornithologists to southwestern Paraguay during the 1990s failed to turn up any evidence that the bird was still in existence. Furthermore, only the oldest residents of the region had knowledge of the macaw, with the species last recorded in the 1870s. It is most probable that the bird's disappearance is linked to the wholesale felling of the Yatay Palm, Butia yatay, whose nuts appear to have constituted its main food. However, suitable habitat remains in El Palmar National Park in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos as well as southern Brazil, however, no rumours of the bird's continued existence in the past several decades have been proven credible.