Green headed macaws?

[plax]

That's true, Plax.... although, I think Chaz's weight is more than a BTM could account for. BTM was considered, but then decided against. (don't remember why) If you'd like, I can ask what his last weigh in was?

Did find some BTM & B&G photos for comparison.
DSC_3236 mccaws t | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
preening | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Blue and gold | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMG_5971 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I was just comparing Chaz with the BFA next to him in one of the photos. If the B&G side were dominant for size I just thought he should appear somewhat larger. Of course his age when that photo was taken is also a factor. But that's why the possibility of a BTM parent occurred to me.

 

[Alwese]

Hey Plax, A while back they did a bunch of juggling of what species were included in what based on DNA similarities. I think I remember they were taking the Hy off of the macaw species or some foolishness like that. Hys ARE a bit different than the rest of the macaws with truly yellow skin and laid out differently, but they were saying something that Hys lack the preen gland on their back that other macaws get oil to waterproof their feathers. My macaws emit an odor, moreso in winter, that smells to me like hot buttered popcorn (if that can be called an odor). Anyway, we know there are some variations in species. You have probably seen Scarlets with varying amounts of yellow on the wings and South American Scarlets have a green dot on the back of the head. Some Scarlets I have seen have intense dark green at the tips of the yellow wing feathers. I'm just saying this because I think a lot of these birds are far more closely related than we think they are. Left to their own, they would choose not to hybridize which created the distinct species we recognize

 

[plax]

Hey Plax, A while back they did a bunch of juggling of what species were included in what based on DNA similarities. I think I remember they were taking the Hy off of the macaw species or some foolishness like that. Hys ARE a bit different than the rest of the macaws with truly yellow skin and laid out differently, but they were saying something that Hys lack the preen gland on their back that other macaws get oil to waterproof their feathers. My macaws emit an odor, moreso in winter, that smells to me like hot buttered popcorn (if that can be called an odor). Anyway, we know there are some variations in species. You have probably seen Scarlets with varying amounts of yellow on the wings and South American Scarlets have a green dot on the back of the head. Some Scarlets I have seen have intense dark green at the tips of the yellow wing feathers. I'm just saying this because I think a lot of these birds are far more closely related than we think they are. Left to their own, they would choose not to hybridize which created the distinct species we recognize

Yes, there are certainly sub-groups (not subspecies) within many of the designated species. And yes, Hys are markedly different from other Macaw types - at least from the types that are not blue with yellow skin patches.

If you'll check post #11 in this thread you'll see that I gave my opinion about existing species classification and why I believe the taxonomic structure is replete with error. It was originally compiled without DNA corroboration because DNA mapping was not possible at the time. This means that scientists were forced to designate species lines purely based upon observation of characteristics. I'm sure that's why some of those decisions are being re-visited - current technology can easily prove how wrong prior thinking may have been. The problem, though, is that once set in stone (as it were) it's extremely difficult to get the scientific community to accept such reassessments and reclassify accordingly.

As for how closely Hyacinths are related to other Macaw species, or whether Hyacinths even qualify as true Macaws based upon DNA assessments, I can't say one way or the other with certainty. All I know is that I absolutely adore Zaffer (whatever he may be )!