Is this a scarlet macaw?

[Bobbyjohnson1859]

http://i39.tinypic.com/ndvoec.jpg

I posted 2 links because I'm not sure which one to use, lol. But I just got this female macaw and I was told that she's a scarlet but I'm unsure, the feathers that should be yellow are black and she's smaller than my blue and golds which is odd for a "scarlet" she was a gift though so I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering if you guys might know a little more about her than I do. I'm thinking she may be some sort of mutation. She is beautiful and so smart, I've never had a macaw who talks nearly as much, or as well as she does, lol.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Yes it's a scarlet macaw, but it looks very strange. I'm thinking it's some sort of color mutation.... although I won't rule out that the strange color could be caused by a health issue. You should do some testing and see what the vet thinks.

Really interesting looking, are you planning on breeding her/him if she is healthy?

Normal scarlet

 

[MarciaLove]

I would say some sort of mutation but I could be wrong she is gorgeous though!!! I would get her checked by a vet to make sure it isnt a result of a health problem.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I just looked it up online and I believe your scarlet is a Mexican scarlet macaw who have much thinner yellow bands. yours could be a extreme version of this. Or just a mutation.

A narrow yellow band of wing feathers and smaller size are indicative of the Mexican scarlet macaw.

The mexican scarlet macaw is a subspecies, it is rare and in danger of extinction in the wild.

http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/pdf/links/neo/rev5/vol_5_2/ororni_5_2_99-104.pdf

In this article is says it is larger than normal scarlet, but that conflicts with the above statement saying they are smaller

 

[MonicaMc]

Sorry, but that's no mutation!

Yes, she is a scarlet macaw! However, her lack of yellow could be due to a health problem. I've seen many photos of older scarlet macaws lacking the yellow band that previously had the yellow band. These birds usually were in poor health or were injured in some way that some how resulted in their loss of the yellow feathers.

I think you can consider this to be the equivalent of "red suffusion" in scarlet macaws.


There's at least a couple of photos of these "red" scarlet macaws on Flickr and you may be able to find some others via Google Search, although not easy to come by. I also am "friends" with people who have a scarlet like yours.