Abstract
During the recent convention in Hollywood, Florida on August 23rd to 26th, 1979 the writer was asked numerous questions about the large number of hybrid Macaws at Miami's Parrot Jungle. Attempting to answer these questions proved difficult due to the lack of recognized hybrid names. In some cases seven different hybrids were being referred to indiscriminately as either Orange-breasted or Red-breasted hybrids. Needless to say, little accurate information could be communicated and trying to describe a Blue and Gold to Scarlet hybrid back-crossed to Scarlet and then crossed-back to a Blue and Gold-Scarlet hybrid only succeeded in leaving the listener bewildered. Therefore the proposed names are being published in an effort to stabilize the nomenclature and recognize these beautiful hybrids.
First permit me to digress and address the subject of hybrids in general using specific examples. The first hybrids we are aware of are in the first plants and animals that man domesticated. Such hybrids are exemplified by the chicken asd by corn which today have no counterpart in the wild. . Hybrids in nature for the most part are unsuccessful or, possibly in very rare cases, speciate and through evolution become a stable species. I'm not aware of any proven case of such in nature, however if one examines dogs and cats it is obvious that such a stabilization is possible. Were it not so there would not be the number of recognized breeds we know today. In fact if all the recognized breeds of dogs were found geographically separated in the wild they would be recognized as distinct species and Canis f amiliaris would not cover the multitude of different forms it presently encompasses.
The writer is well aware of the call for the purity of species in aviculture. The hybrid is looked on with horror by some as degenerating the species involved. However in the orchids the hybrids have been legion and for over a hundred years they have been registered and you can trace an orchid hybrid back to its original species. In many cases hybrids between different genera have been made. Hybrids in the orchids commonly involve three genera and as high as five different genera have been involved. Thusly, hybridization can be a valuable tool to obtain new shapes, colors, size and other qualities which are considered desirable. Who would fault hybrid Begonias , or the many vegetables, fruits or flowers we take so much for granted?
While the value of Macaw hybrids lies in their beauty; who will dispute that the value of a hybrid orchid lies in its beauty , or who will criticize using several grasses to produce com or wheat hybrids? Will those persons stop drinking orange juice because it comes from a hybrid? Certainly not! There is a value placed on hybrid orange juice. If you don't believe that to be true try drinking juice from the presumed wild species. You'll soon go back to the hybrid!
While hybrid Macaws may never reach that point, with the hybrids that exist today it is safe to predict an orange or yellow Macaw in a few more generations. I would feel safe in predicting that when the potential for pets is realized there will be hybridization with the smaller Macaws to produce colorful rivals to the Budgies and Cockatiels. Place the emphasis on color - there isn't a gene pool available to the Budgies or Cockatiels as varied as the Macaws. Today we can see orange, yellow and purple, along with the existing red, blue and green. We have yet to come up with a lutino or cyanistic Macaw; but would it not be reasonable to expect one from the small Macaws? The writer has owned a cyanistic Amazon and has seen other Amazons in both cyanistic and lutino phases. The smallest of the Macaws is only slightly larger than the largest Cockatiels the writer has seen. The thought of yellow, red, orange or blue in a bird the size of Hahn's Macaw is an exciting probability.
The writer's research has failed to disclose the first hybrid Macaw but it is believed to be the cross between the Scarlet and Blue and Gold Macaws (Ara ararauna X Ara macao) which has been called the Catalina Macaw. Since this name has been published and no other name has been advanced with priority, Catalina is believed to be valid for the hybrid between A. ararauna and A. macao or the reverse cross.
The only other hybrid name in the Macaws that seems to have been validly published appears to be the hybrid between the Blue and Gold Macaw and the Green-wing Macaw (Ara ararauna x Ara chloroptera) or the reverse cross, which is called the 'Harlequin' Macaw.
An aside on nomenclature is perhaps in order here. It does not matter where the publication is made, if it fulfills the Rules of Nomenclature it is valid and has priority. If there are other names that are believed to have priority the writer would like to know of them and the citation.
The first hybrid which the writer proposes a name for is the cross between the Scarlet Macaw and the Military Macaw (Ara macao X Ara militaris) or its reverse cross. While the first hybrid of this cross is not known for certain that cross is know to have been made a Parrot Jungle in Miami in 1959. In the absence of a valid name the writer proposes the name 'Shamrock' to designate the hybrid between A. macao and A. militaris. The name has been chosen to allude to the green in the hybrid with 'Shamrock green' connotates.
The hybrid is intermediate between the parents as would be expected in a primary hybrid of this sort. There is some variability but the writer concludes from the ten specimens that it is not significant.
The writer is also proposing a name for another primary hybrid, the cross between the Scarlet Macaw and Buffon's Macaw (Ara macao X Ara ambigua) and its reverse cross. The writer proposes the name 'Verde' to designate the hybrid between the Scarlet Macaw and Buffon's Macaw. The name is chosen to allude to the green in the hybrid with 'Verde' connotates.
The hybrid is similar to the 'Shamrock' with yellow in the wings where the 'Shamrock' has chartreuse. The colors are more vivid than 'Shamrock' and the variability between the birds is much greater. The red band across the front of the head is similar in both hybrids as would be expected since this feature is common to all parents. However the facial feathers in 'Verde' are more abundant and are predominately red. The hybrid was first raised at Parrot Jungle in Miami in 1977 and a total of five have been raised to date.