Ara chloroptera
This 18th Century watercolour by Charles Collins, part of the Taylor White Collection, depicts the macaw that Taylor White himself captioned the Red & Blue Macaw when he commissioned the original painting. Today the species is more widely known as the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloroptera), a name reflecting the vivid red, green and blue plumage visible across its body and wings. It is also sometimes called the Green-winged Macaw.
The Range and Description of the Red and Blue Macaw
Native to the forests and woodlands of northern and central South America, spanning Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Red-and-green Macaw is the largest member of the genus Ara. Adults can reach up to 90cm (35 inches) in length, with a wingspan of up to 125cm (49 inches), and may live for more than 50 years in the wild.
The species feeds mainly on fruit, seeds and nuts, with a particular liking for the fruit of palm trees. Like other macaws, it is often seen visiting exposed riverbank clay licks in small flocks, thought to help neutralise toxins present in some of the seeds and unripe fruit it consumes.
The Habits of the Red and Blue Macaw
Highly social and intelligent, Red-and-green Macaws form lasting bonds with their mates and are typically seen in pairs or small, vocal flocks, their acrobatic displays and constant chatter a familiar feature of their native habitat. The species is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although populations in parts of its range have declined due to habitat loss and capture for the wildlife trade.
Taylor White’s 18th Century collection of watercolours, commissioned from artists including Charles Collins, forms part of an extraordinary record of birds and natural history from the period, now held in the McGill University Library. Each painting was made from life or from specimens in White’s own menagerie, resulting in a level of anatomical detail and naturalism unusual for the time. This depiction of the Red-and-green Macaw reflects that same careful observation, capturing the bird’s distinctive colouring and form with precision.
Two centuries on, these watercolours remain a valuable record of both the natural history and the artistic conventions of the period, offering a window onto how 18th Century naturalists observed and documented the birds of the wider world.
c.1680 - 1744
Charles Collins (c.1680-1744) was a painter of birds, mammals and still life, born in Dublin and trained in Ireland before establishing himself in London. He built his early reputation on still-life subjects, including a series of fruit studies for Robert Furber's Twelve Months of Fruit (1732), before turning increasingly to natural history illustration. From 1736, Collins worked alongside Peter Paillou to produce watercolours of British birds and mammals for the naturalist and collector Taylor White, contributing over 200 signed works to White's collection. His animal studies are noted for their lifelike composition, typically set against a grassy mound or tree stump rather than a plain background, and for the accuracy with which plumage and colouring were recorded from live or preserved specimens. Collins died in London in 1744, described at the time as Bird Painter to the Royal Society.
Credit: Taylor White Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, McGill University Library.