The Martinique macaw was scientifically described by the British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1905, as a new species of the macaw genus Anodorhynchus; A. martinicus.
The taxon was solely based on a 1630s account by the French priest Jacques Bouton of blue and orange-yellow macaws from the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique.
Rothschild reclassified the species as Ara martinicus in his 1907 book, Extinct Birds, which also contained a restoration of the bird by the Dutch artist John Gerrard Keulemans.
The reassignment led to confusion as recently as 2001, when the American ornithologists Matthew Williams and David Steadman assumed the two names were meant to refer to separate birds.
The Martinique amazon (Amazona martinicana) of the same island, was also based solely on a contemporary description.

What Bouton described is likely to remain a mystery, but various theories have been proposed.
In 1906, the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori noted that the Martinique macaw seemed similar to the blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) of mainland South America, and may have been the same bird.
The American ornithologist James Greenway suggested Bouton's description could have been based on a captive bird.
Edwards' Dodo, a 1626 painting by the Dutch artist Roelant Savery, shows several birds including a blue and yellow macaw, which is different from the mainland bird in having yellow undertail covert feathers instead of blue, but the origin of this macaw is unknown.
Another macaw in the painting may be the also extinct Lesser Antillean macaw (Ara guadeloupensis).
Another Savery painting from about the same time shows a similar blue and yellow macaw, as does a mid-1700s illustration by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin.
In 1936, the Cuban scientist Mario Sánchez Roig claimed to have found a stuffed Martinique macaw specimen, which was supposed to have been collected in 1845.
After examination the same year, the American ornithologist John T. Zimmer showed it to be a hoax, combining a burrowing parakeet (Cyanoliseus patagonus byroni) with the tail of a dove.

In the article that named the Martinique macaw, Rothschild also listed an "Anodorhynchus coeruleus", supposedly from Jamaica.
Salvadori also questioned this in 1906, as he was unsure what Rothschild was referring to.
In his Extinct Birds, Rothschild clarified that his first description was erroneous, as he had misread an old description.
He renamed it Ara erythrura, based on a 1658 description by the French pastor Charles de Rochefort, and conceded that its provenance was unknown.
This supposed species subsequently received common names such as "red-tailed blue-and-yellow macaw" and "satin macaw" in the ornithological literature.
Greenway suggested Rochefort's description was dubious, as he had never visited Jamaica, and appeared to have based his account on one by the French friar Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre.
If either bird ever existed, Ara erythrura is likely to have been identical to the Martinique macaw, according to the British ornithologists Julian P. Hume and Michael Walters.
Other similar blue and yellow macaws, such as the "great macaw" ("Psittacus maximus cyanocroceus") were also reported from Jamaica.
Birdlife International does not have an entry for the Martinique macaw, but it was mentioned in that of the Lesser Antillean macaw (which is considered Not Recognized) as possibly identical.
The Martinique macaw was scientifically described by the British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1905, as a new species of the macaw genus Anodorhynchus; A. martinicus. The taxon was solely based on a 1630s account by the French priest Jacques Bouton of blue and orange-yellow macaws from the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique. Rothschild reclassified the species as Ara martinicus in his 1907 book, Extinct Birds, which also contained a restoration of the bird by the Dutch artist John Gerrard Keulemans. The reassignment led to confusion as recently as 2001, when the American ornithologists Matthew Williams and David Steadman assumed the two names were meant to refer to separate birds. The Martinique amazon (Amazona martinicana) of the same island, was also based solely on a contemporary description.
What Bouton described is likely to remain a mystery, but various theories have been proposed. In 1906, the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori noted that the Martinique macaw seemed similar to the blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) of mainland South America, and may have been the same bird. The American ornithologist James Greenway suggested Bouton's description could have been based on a captive bird. Edwards' Dodo, a 1626 painting by the Dutch artist Roelant Savery, shows several birds including a blue and yellow macaw, which is different from the mainland bird in having yellow undertail covert feathers instead of blue, but the origin of this macaw is unknown. Another macaw in the painting may be the also extinct Lesser Antillean macaw (Ara guadeloupensis). Another Savery painting from about the same time shows a similar blue and yellow macaw, as does a mid-1700s illustration by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin. In 1936, the Cuban scientist Mario Sánchez Roig claimed to have found a stuffed Martinique macaw specimen, which was supposed to have been collected in 1845. After examination the same year, the American ornithologist John T. Zimmer showed it to be a hoax, combining a burrowing parakeet (Cyanoliseus patagonus byroni) with the tail of a dove.
In the article that named the Martinique macaw, Rothschild also listed an "Anodorhynchus coeruleus", supposedly from Jamaica. Salvadori also questioned this in 1906, as he was unsure what Rothschild was referring to. In his Extinct Birds, Rothschild clarified that his first description was erroneous, as he had misread an old description. He renamed it Ara erythrura, based on a 1658 description by the French pastor Charles de Rochefort, and conceded that its provenance was unknown. This supposed species subsequently received common names such as "red-tailed blue-and-yellow macaw" and "satin macaw" in the ornithological literature. Greenway suggested Rochefort's description was dubious, as he had never visited Jamaica, and appeared to have based his account on one by the French friar Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre. If either bird ever existed, Ara erythrura is likely to have been identical to the Martinique macaw, according to the British ornithologists Julian P. Hume and Michael Walters. Other similar blue and yellow macaws, such as the "great macaw" ("Psittacus maximus cyanocroceus") were also reported from Jamaica. Birdlife International does not have an entry for the Martinique macaw, but it was mentioned in that of the Lesser Antillean macaw (which is considered Not Recognized) as possibly identical.
Martinique macaw