the glaucous macaw is a beautiful large macaw with a striking appearance. they may appear similar to the more familiar hyacinth macaw at first glance, but they have a lighter teal color on their body, as well as some violet hues on the wings. the glaucous macaw is somewhat closely related to the hyacinth macaw, though they are closest to the lear’s macaw.
unfortunately, it’s possible the glaucous macaw is no longer alive. widely believed to be extinct, they have not been seen alive since the 1960s. while rumors persist that there are wild birds still out there, none have proved credible or have come with photographic evidence, and expeditions to the macaws’ native range haven’t turned up any survivors. it’s believed they declined due to the widespread destruction of their habitat and main food source, the yatay palm.
you are correct in saying turacos are very unreal. do you know what is especially unreal about turacos? they are the only bearers of not one, but two unique pigments known as turacin and turacoverdin, named from the bird itself. both of these pigments are copper-based, unlike other pigments found in birds and just, really, vertebrates in general. the vibrant greens in turacos are due to turacoverdin, which is the /only/ truly green pigment in birds (the rest are just tricks of the light, really). turacin gives them that pretty red, which, to me, is a much deeper color than other bird pigments.
you know what time it is? pigeon appreciation time
when u think of pigeons, you probably think of the city chicken
and thats okay like… nobody expects u to have a degree in pigeon knowledge. but whatever. thats a feral pigeon. they came from this other kind of pigeon called a rock dove, which looks, believe it or not, exactly like a feral pigeon. humankind domesticated the rock dove, and then the domesticated pigeon-dove thing decided “fuck this humans suck” and returned to the wild, creating the good ol pavement cleaners (x)
but like from here? all these other kinds of pigeons are goddamn weird. especially show pigeons, taxonomically + collectively called fancy pigeons. (x) these pigeons look better than you do, probably.
see? they look like models. but in actuality all they are are other breeds of pigeons (collectively called fancy pigeons) bred to look even more fru-fru and than they already look. kind of like showdogs, but for pigeons. its kind of strange to see all the weird proportions such intricate breeding has given these birds.
this is an indian fantail pigeon, a type of fancy pigeon. kinda looks like the prototype of a peacock imo
than theres this monstrosity
it looks like a chicken had a honeymoon with a dove and this fucker hatched out of an egg and sadly procreated, creating the species known today as the Scandaroon. but really it was just bred during the times of Alexander the Great to be used as a food source (x) , so like… who cares if they looked weird if they made good pigeon meat right
this is a jacobin pigeon. theyre tall, slender fancy pigeons with a giant fucking mane that looks like those glittery featherboas you got for school projects during elementary school. why did humans do this? aesthetic (x)
yet another fancy pigeon called the frillback pigeon. its known for being like one of the first breeds bred specifically to look pretty, and apparently looking pretty means looking like you have a bunch of pencil shavings on your arms. god i wish that were me honestly? although the Official Bird Judging Council™ is apparently hella strict on their Frillback Grading™ too so take that as u will (x)
so like yeah youve seen birds do that chest poofy thing right? you can probably guess its to impress females / look bigger / etc, but like these breeders make it into a whole separate fuckin torso. these guys breed the birds, called Croppers or Pouters, to have bigger and bigger poofers (actually called a crop but thats boring), while maintaining the slender figure of the bird. its like some horribly twisted inflation kink. (x)
remember me calling feral pigeons “city chickens”? well these pigeons are literally bred to look like chickens. they’re called Hens, only adding to their probable lifelong embarrassment that they get looking at other breeds of fancy pigeon (x)
this is an archangel pigeon. the entire breed revolves around its dark, metallic feathers. thats simple enough, but again, the Fancy Pigeon Judging Panel™ has strict policies regarding this bird in regulated shows / contests (x)
these fuckers have been bred so horribly by humankind that they essentially have a human nail for a beak. its called the Short-Faced Tumbler. It’s known for it’s weird-ass flight patterns that make it impossible to be released back into the wild without predatory birds finally relieving it from its painful existence. they also come in all kinds of colors, not just feral-pigeon-grey. theyre so fucked up that they cant even feed their own chicks (also called squabs) (x) (x)
this freak-of-nature is the barb pigeon. this poor thing. this poor, poor, poor thing. (x)
now for some non-fancy pigeons. theyre still pretty damn fancy but they arent… taxonomically fancy
this is a nicobar pigeon. its the closest living relative to the equally majestic-looking dodo. It’s a pretty big bird, over a foot in size, usually. (x)
this is a Fruit Dove (specifically, a superb fruit dove). theyre known for being extremely vibrant birds that usually shy away from heavily populated environments. they have so many different kinds of fruit doves that you can probably give a kid a blank white dove and some paint, and by the end you’d have some kind of fruit dove. (x)
today's bird 
